COVID-19 Situation In Malaysia: Two New Cases, Total Now 21

KUALA SELANGOR (Selangor), Feb 15 (Bernama) -- Two new COVID-19 cases were detected in the country overnight, bringing cumulative cases to 21. Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the two new cases involved Chinese nationals, a man and a woman. He said the man, who is the 20th case, is a 27-year-old businessman from Guangzhou and was found having symptoms during screening at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in the northern state of Kedah Friday. "Clinical samples were taken for testing and he was sent to the isolation ward at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Alor Setar, Kedah. This morning the throat swab taken confirmed he was positive for COVID-19. "As for Case 21, the woman, aged 32, is a resident in Malaysia but visited China from Jan 22 to 30. She was confirmed positive for COVID-19 this morning," he told reporters after opening the annual general meeting of Sekolah Kebangsaan Desa Aman Desa Coalfield's Parent-Teacher Association here Saturday. At the event, Dzulkefly also handed over 5,000 bottles of hand sanitisers contributed by Elite Advanced Materials Sdn Bhd, for use by 35 schools in the district. In his speech, the Kuala Selangor MP advised the people not to panic over the COVID-19 situation in the country, saying the government had things well under control. He said even though the infection rate in China, where COVID-19 started, was at 4.8 to five per cent, in Malaysia and rest of the world, it was only from 0.5 to one per cent. "This rate is far lower than that for the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) which were at 10 per cent and 30 per cent," he said. -- BERNAMA