No Wuhan virus reported yet, but country remains at risk — Dr Lee
KUCHING: Malaysia has not recorded any case of coronavirus pneumonia but remains at risk due to the large number of Mainland Chinese visitors to the country each year, says Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye.
“So far there are no traces of the Wuhan coronavirus in Malaysia. However, we are at high risk because every year, we have close to three million Chinese visitors coming into the country,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.
The SARS-like coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan, China has claimed the lives of nine of its citizens, with the number of cases surpassing 400.
AFP reported that Asian countries have ramped up measures to block the spread of this new virus with nations across the Asia-Pacific region stepping up checks of passengers at airports to detect it.
Dr Lee said Malaysia is likewise taking the necessary precautions, with the Ministry of Health carrying out screening at international airports for all travellers from Wuhan since Jan 1, 2020.
“Because of documented human-tohuman transmission, we have started to screen all international travellers at all international airports in the country with thermal scanners.
“We also have a medical team on standby at Malaysia’s international airports including Sarawak for quarantine (of suspected cases) and transportation to hospitals for isolation and treatment,” he said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday convened an emergency meeting in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss and consider whether it should declare the novel coronavirus outbreak in China as an international public health emergency.