27 more cases among detainees reported

PUTRAJAYA: Another 27 Covid-19 cases have been detected from two Immigration Department detention centres in the country, making it a total of 62 cases.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the immigration depot in Semenyih was now also under investigation, after two of its detainees were found positive.

“The Health Ministry has conducted swab tests on 1,200 undocumented migrants at the Bukit Jalil depot, and 1,600 in Semenyih.

“Those who were positive were sent to the ministry’s temporary hospital at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS),” said Ismail Sabri at the National Security Council daily press conference here yesterday.

He said the virus may have easily spread because the detainees were put up in dormitories, and not in individual rooms.

“The public should not be worried about this because the depot itself is like a quarantine centre.

“Detainees cannot go out so the virus will not spread. Those who are positive will be isolated and treated,” he said, adding that 114 workers have tested negative so far.

An officer at the Bukit Jalil depot said that he was told to quarantine at home after being declared negative.

“I am undergoing quarantine in my own room, and have isolated myself from my family,” he said.

Meanwhile, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said individuals who were found positive will not be deported to their countries until they have recovered.

“We are screening and testing all detainees at the depots. Only those who are negative can be deported,” he said at the Health Ministry’s daily press conference here yesterday.