MOH: Parliament surau, toilets possible contributor to spread of Covid-19

 

Common use facilities in Parliament grounds such as surau and toilets have been identified as possible spots that contributed to the recent spread of Covid-19, said the Health Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry revealed that there have been 85 confirmed Covid-19 cases linked to last week’s Parliament sitting, including 56 during pre-Dewan Rakyat mass testing and 17 that were detected during the Parliament session.

“From what MOH has found in our investigation so far, there is a high possibility that basic amenities such as toilets and surau, which were frequented by many individuals, had posed the risk of spreading the Covid-19 infection in the Parliament.

“MOH will continue to monitor the health status of all positive cases, their close contacts and other possible new cases that might still be in their incubation period.

“Thus, it is advised that all individuals who were at Parliament to continue monitoring their health situation using MySejahtera application. Should they develop any symptoms of the coronavirus, they must take Covid-19 screening test and immediate treatment,” said the statement signed by Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

It was reported that a special Parliament session that was held last week, which was also the first sitting for this year, had to be halted on its fourth day on Thursday as authorities feared an outbreak of the Covid-19.

This has resulted in all MPs who attended the sitting, as well as officers, ordered to take immediate tests to determine if they have the virus.

The sitting, which was supposed to resume on Monday, was also postponed to a later date by embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. “Covid-19 risk” had been cited as the reason for the postponement.

According to MOH, through a preliminary testing, six of the samples taken during tests could be of the dangerous Delta variant.

The samples have been sent to the Institute for Medical Research for a full genome sequencing to determine if they were indeed of the variant.

“We are still waiting for the results,” said Noor Hisham. - Mkini