M’sia PM quarantined after official gets Covid

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will undergo self-quarantine at home for 14 days after a Cabinet minister tested positive for Covid-19.

However, the prime minister assured the people that the situation will not disrupt the running of the government.

“I will continue to work from home and use video conferencing to attend important meetings that I am required to chair,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Muhyiddin had chaired a Special Cabinet Meeting on Saturday which was also attended by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri who tested positive for Covid-19.

The minister confirmed this on his Facebook page on Monday.

This will be the second time that the prime minister will undergo self-quarantine, the first being in May after an officer present during a postCabinet meeting tested positive for the coronavirus.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that one of those at the meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Department was infected.

Muhyiddin said after the risk evaluation by the Health Ministry, those identified to be in close contact during the meeting were issued with a home surveillance order (HSO) for 14 days from Saturday and will wear the surveillance bracelet.

“Members of the meeting who are not close contacts have been told to observe self-quarantine for 14 days from October 3 to 16 and conduct self-health monitoring at home for 14 days using the ‘home assessment tool’ in the MySejahtera app,” he said.

The prime minister also noted that the Health Ministry conducted Covid-19 tests on all the secretariat members of the meeting concerned.

As a precaution, Muhyiddin said he had been taking Covid-19 tests every fortnightly since April with all being negative.

“I have also been tested for Covid-19 three times over the last three weeks, on September 22, 26, and 29, and the results were all negative,” he added.

Among those present in the meeting were Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.