'Hidden' Covid-19 in Perak family highlights challenges as economy reopens

CORONAVIRUS | As Putrajaya relaxes the movement control order (MCO), the story of how Covid-19 went undetected in a Perak family highlights the challenges faced in containing the virus as people return to work.

The Perak family of seven had complied with the MCO in Manjung for almost two months so it came as a surprise when a family member who was about to return to work in Johor tested positive for Covid-19.

The family's second eldest daughter, 29, went for Covid-19 testing at a private hospital in Johor Bahru on May 5 as a company condition for her to return to work.

The result came back with a "weak positive". A "weak positive" result is normally found in Covid-19 patients who are near full recovery.

It was unclear how long she had been infected or whether she caught the virus in Johor where she worked, or in Perak, where she had returned shortly before the MCO came into force on March 18.

The discovery prompted authorities to test six other family members in Manjung on May 9, and a day later, her 30-year-old sister was also diagnosed with Covid-19.

Throughout the MCO, the family never suspected any member had been infected with Covid-19. Both the sisters were asymptomatic (i.e. no symptoms).

The infection would not have been discovered if it was not for the testing condition imposed by the company.

The discovery also marked the return of Covid-19 in Perak after going for almost two weeks without recording a case.

Malaysiakini is withholding the names of the two sisters to respect their privacy.

A third sister who spoke to Malaysiakini, Nur Farhana Fazlin, said her 29-year-old sister had been wrongfully accused by netizens who assumed she brought the virus from Johor to Perak.

"She tested positive in Johor and now remains in Johor.

"But the Health Ministry still counts her case as being a part of Perak (statistics)," she said when contacted.

"The rest of the family were taken to quarantine after my (30-year-old) sister was tested positive here," she added.

Farhana said she is currently under quarantine with her parents, a younger sibling and two-year-old nephew at a facility in Ulu Kinta.

Perak health director Dr Ding Lay Ming yesterday reportedly said two new cases recorded in the state involved two siblings and authorities are still investigating the main source of infection.

The MCO was first enforced on March 18 and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced that the current conditional MCO period has been extended until June 9.

He also said an estimated 6.64 million people have returned to work since earlier this month or an estimated 43.6 percent of the Malaysian workforce. - Mkini