PUTRAJAYA MAY 15: The Ministry of Health reported that it has tested 424,306 samples, out of that 6,855 of them have been detected with positive COVID-19 while 417,451 are negative; and the positive rate is 1.62%.
Director General of Health, Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said, the ministry has screened test 13 out of 1,000 people in Malaysia and as such it has become the country with the most COVID-19 tests in South East Asian region.
He added, 45 laboratories have the capacity to test 26,673 samples a day while yesterday (May 14) 24,507 (92%) samples have been tested with 82% of the results are obtained in 24 hours and 9.9% within 48 hours and 1% in 72 hours.
In another development, Dr. Noor Hisham advises the people not to take along senior citizens and children to the super markets and hospitals as they are vulnerable to COVID-19.
“Under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), restrictions are lesser and as such senior citizens and children should be protected from COVID-19 infections.
“If the people are still adamant, legal action under Act 342, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 could be taken where they will be charged in the courts,” he said in a press conference held here today.
Regarding the permission for 20 persons to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri on the first day, Dr. Noor Hisham said: “Let us forget about 20 people as it is relative and depends on the size of the house”.
“It is advisable for the children from the red zone not to come back to visit their parents. It is safer if Hari Raya Aidilfitri is celebrated in your own “house curfew”.
“Stop visiting neighbour’s house and receiving visitors as a precautionary measure to protect the family members and the community,” he said and described this year’s Hari Raya as unique and unprecedented.
Dr. Noor Hisham said, in whatever situation the people must always adhere to 3C – avoid confined space, crowded place and close conversation and 3W -wash the hands with water and soap/sanitizer, wear mask and warn -avoid physical touch,
ethical sneezing and coughing, disinfection , stay at home and get treatment if symptoms persist.
Regarding the current COVID-19 situation, Dr. Noor Hisham said, 88 patients were discharged bringing the accumulative total to 5,439 (79.3%) while 36 were new cases marking the record of 6,855 since the outbreak of the pandemic.
“Out of the new cases, 28 were foreigners and the rest were local transmissions while 1,304 were under treatment. There were 14 cases admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) while five cases needed respiratory aids and there was no death case today bringing the death toll remained at 112 or 1.63% from the total number of positive cases,” he added. –Malaysia World News
