Two buildings where enhanced MCO lifted record new Covid-19 cases

CORONAVIRUS | The Health Ministry will continue to monitor areas which were previously under an enhanced movement control order (MCO), assured director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He was asked to respond to the lifting of the enhanced MCO at Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion in Kuala Lumpur despite the Health Ministry today reporting new Covid-19 cases at the two buildings.

"Although the order has been lifted, we will continue to monitor the areas. We will always monitor the areas even when the enhanced MCO has ended," he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Earlier, Noor Hisham revealed that as of noon today, two new cases were detected in the Selangor Mansion building whereas Malayan Mansion recorded one case.

According to the director-general, the new cases were from tests done two days ago.

"On the localities where enhanced MCO has ended, the positive results came from tests that we did two days ago. The results came in after 12 noon yesterday," he added.

Noor Hisham was asked on the logic of the government's decision to lift the enhanced MCO, when health authorities still find new cases in the areas.

This afternoon, senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is in charge of the security cluster, announced that the government has lifted most enhanced MCO around the country, except for some areas in Selayang.

He told a press conference that the enhanced MCO for Menara City One, Selangor Mansion, Malayan Mansion and the area surrounding Masjid India were lifted yesterday, while enhanced MCO for Maahad Tahfiz An-Nabawiyyah, a religious school in Sungai Lui, Hulu Langat, will be lifted tomorrow.

Two locations in Selayang, namely Pusat Bandar Baru Utara (near the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market) and Selayang Baru, saw some of the areas had their enhanced MCO lifted while the rest were extended to May 12.

According to Noor Hisham today, the KL wholesale market and Pusat Bandar Baru Utara cluster have also recorded an increase of 21 new cases as of noon today. These include 17 cases that were detected outside the locality.

It is understood that the cases outside involved traders from other markets who contracted Covid-19 when they went to the KL wholesale market to get their supply, and then brought it with them when they returned to their places of origin.

So far, the market cluster had reached two markets in Petaling Jaya and a wet market in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan.

It has yet to be revealed to the press if there had been more markets or sub-clusters identified by MOH to date.

With the increase of 21 new cases, the cluster's cumulative number of cases now stands at 160, including 79 outside the locality.

From the total, 106 of the patients are foreigners and there has been one death from the cluster. - Mkini