Ministry looking for source of new KL construction site cluster

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is investigating the source of a Covid-19 virus spread at a construction site in Kuala Lumpur, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the ministry had found 28 cases in this new “Kuala Lumpur construction site” cluster, but had yet to identify its source.

“There is a possibility that this construction site cluster is related to other clusters. Those involved may be living in the same house with those linked to other clusters.

“It could be the Sri Petaling gathering cluster, the Selayang Wholesale Market cluster or even the Kampung Baru cluster.

“However, we have no strong evidence that it is linked to any of them,” he said yesterday.

He added that all 28 cases involved foreign nationals.

Several other clusters reported an increase in cases. He said there were 17 new cases in the Sendayan tahfiz centre cluster with 104 cases; 50 new cases linked to the Pesantren cluster (219 total); 16 new cases in the Chow Kit cluster (28 total); one new case for the Kuching church gathering (182 total); and one new case for the Kuching healthcare workers cluster (58 total).

The Health Ministry recorded 122 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, bringing the tally of coronavirus infections in the country to 6,298.

Dr Noor Hisham said of the 122 new infections, 70 were local while 52 were imported.

“The total number of active cases is 1,780. The Health Ministry recorded 87 new recoveries, increasing the number of patients discharged to 4,413 (70 per cent of the total).”

He said the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre recorded two fatalities, bringing the death toll to 105 (1.66 per cent).

The 104th death (Case 5,539) was a Malaysian man, 82, with a history of hypertension and heart disease.

He was treated at Sungai Buloh Hospital on April 22, and died on Saturday at 6.29pm.

“The 105th death (Case 5,837) was a Malaysian man, 64, with a history of diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease.

“He was admitted to Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital, Seremban, on April 27 and pronounced dead on May 3 at 9.46am.”

Based on information from the Covid-19 mortality review, he said the ministry found that 32 of 99 reported deaths in the country were among those aged between 61 and 70, while 19 deaths involved those aged from 71 to 80.

“Although we have yet to fully understand this virus, what is clear is that the risk of infection increases with age, and among individuals who have chronic diseases or non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as diabetes, hypertension, heart or kidney diseases, or cancer.

“(Those with) NCD risk factors, such as smoking and obesity, are at a greater risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms and higher risk of death.”

The ministry, he added, would conduct Covid-19 screening on workers and residents at care centres for the elderly, which would be done in phases, beginning with 17 Rumah Sri Kenangan and Rumah Ehsan under the Social Welfare Department.

He said the ministry would then conduct screening at 357 care centres registered under Act 506 (Care Centres Act 1993) and 26 nursing homes registered under Act 586 (Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998).

“The ministry notes that more than 1,000 care centres for the elderly are not registered under any act.

“District health offices have been directed to identify private care centres, including religious

pondok, to ensure comprehensive Covid-19 screening.”

He urged operators of private care centres to contact their nearest district health offices.

He said the Movement Control Order (MCO) was still being enforced, and reminded the public to adhere to the standard operating procedures.

It was therefore vital for the public to be disciplined and continue obeying MCO restrictions and social distancing, he stressed.

“We did not end the MCO. The perception that we have lifted the order is wrong.

“What we did was relax it following the criteria set by the World Health Organisation.”