New cluster detected among detainees at Bukit Jalil

There has been a new cluster identified at the immigration detention depot at Bukit Jalil, with 34 cases confirmed there today, said health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said these patients had been detained since before the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) on March 18, and that investigations are ongoing to determine the index case and cause of infection.

He shared that the detainees were not tested until now because they had been detained since before the MCO, and that no new detainees from after the implementation of the MCO were mixed in with them. The 34 cases plus one case detected yesterday bring it a total of 35 cases detected at the detention depot.

“We need to investigate in detail before we can make any comments,” he said.

The 34 cases confirmed at Bukit Jalil are part of the total 50 new cases confirmed today. Of these 50, three were imported, and 41 involved foreign nationals, including those at Bukit Jalil. This marks 7,059 total confirmed cases.

There were 90 recoveries reported today, bringing the total number of discharged patients to 5,796.

Active transmission cases now number 1,149, with 10 patients being treated in intensive care, of which seven require ventilator support. No deaths were reported, leaving the death toll at 114.

With regard to the opening of non-Muslim places of worship, Dr Noor Hisham shared that the maximum limit is for 30 people to be in the place of worship at a time, with priority being given to the caretakers. This will be implemented in stages, with only Malaysians allowed to enter the places of worship.

The Ministry of Health will be monitoring this to gauge the impact of the standard operating procedures (SOP) and guidelines implemented by the ministry, and whether these can be adhered to.

“The onus is not only on the Ministry of Health or the government, but also on the public. The rakyat must comply and adhere to the SOP, and if the rakyat complies with the SOP – this is the new norm – then I think we can break the chain of Covid-19 transmission. Whatever we do, we must comply and adhere to the SOP,” said Dr Noor Hisham. – May 21, 2020