By Xavier Kong
HEALTH director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah shared that there has been a downward trend in the number of cases, culminating in only 10 new cases being confirmed today.
He thanked Malaysians for adhering to the rules of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the Conditional MCO (CMCO).
From May 4 to May 27, there were a total of 1,189 cases, of whom 270 are Malaysians, with the remainder being foreign nationals, including those being held at the immigration detention depots.
“We will continue monitoring the number of cases. If we can sustain daily cases with lower double digit or single digit until June 9, to take the festive season into account, we will look into opening more social sectors as well as the education sector. The timing is important, which is why we are being cautious about it,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
He also shared that there have been very few Malaysians in the recently reported cases, and that the spike over the last few days was due to the migrant worker situation.
He advised Malaysians to continue embracing the new normal and to maintain the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines, so that the chain of transmission can be broken and the number of new cases can be kept low.
As of noon today, 86 new recoveries were reported, bringing the total number of discharged patients to 6,169. As mentioned, 10 new cases were reported, all of whom are local transmission cases, with five involving foreign nationals. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 7,629.
Active transmission cases now number 1,345, of whom eight are being treated in intensive care units, with four cases requiring ventilator support. No deaths were reported today, leaving the death toll at 115.
Dr Noor Hisham also shared the latest on the migrant worker situation, noting that 31,204 have been screened to date, of whom 1,858 were Covid-19 positive, and 27,807 reported negative. 1,008 samples still have their results pending.
Right now, 750 migrant workers are receiving treatment, with none in intensive care. 1,104 of the positive cases have already been discharged, with four deaths coming from the community.
With regards to the migrant community, Dr Noor Hisham acknowledged that the issue is not a new one but that it is high time that the issue is addressed. The Ministry of Health, he shared, would look at it from the healthcare point of view, noting that this is not just due to fears of Covid-19, but also other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.
“We have to take a holistic view, that we may find a solution that works in the long term,” he said. – May 28, 2020
