KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 12): The Ministry of Health (MoH) is investigating viral messages circulating on WhatsApp and social media claiming that a secondary school student from Seri Pantai in the Lembah Pantai district here had tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement, Health director-general (D-G) Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Ministry has received a report from the school regarding one symptomatic case involving a student.
“Prior to this, investigations have been conducted based on MoH protocol, where any case that is reported to the Ministry will be investigated first and further actions such as case-tracking activities will be carried out if necessary.
“Investigations found out that the Form 5 student had symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea on Aug 9. On Aug 10, the student was admitted to a private clinic for treatment.
"Subsequently, the student was transferred to a medical centre for further treatment for screening of dengue fever, as well as Covid-19 infections," said Noor Hisham.
He said the student had tested positive for dengue. However, the Covid-19 test results are still being verified in a laboratory to ensure that no cross-reactivity occurred during the test.
“While waiting for the confirmation of the laboratory test, the MoH has started Active Case Detection which is a proactive action that is usually carried out in the field to prevent the risk of infection,” said Noor Hisham.
So far, 34 students and eight teachers have been identified as close contacts of the student.
From the total, 28 people have been screened and the remaining 14 people have been instructed to go to the health clinic for testing.
“All individuals who have been screened are instructed to undergo Home Surveillance Order (HSO) as a precautionary measure.
“Decontamination and disinfection processes have been conducted in the identified locations,” he added.
In addition, the D-G said all of the student’s close contacts will be monitored by the Ministry, with the situation to be updated from time to time.
The Ministry also clarified that any reports from other sources regarding Covid-19 positive cases would be considered as rumours and speculations as they are not officially announced by the MoH.
“The public are advised to check the validity of information at first before disseminating such information [on social media],” said Noor Hisham.
Malaysia’s new Covid-19 cases rose slightly to 11 today from nine reported yesterday, bringing the total cases in the country to 9,114.
There were no new Covid-19 related deaths, with the toll remaining at 125 for the 12th straight day, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).
Thus, the mortality rate in the country stands at 1.37%.
Meanwhile, active cases in the country rose to 172 from 169 reported on Tuesday, leaving only one Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit.
On the other hand, eight more Covid-19 patients have recovered and were discharged, bringing the total recovered patients nationwide to 8,817 or 96.7% of overall cases.