Covid-19: 10 new cases detected, brings total to 93

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry has detected ten new Covid-19 cases as of Saturday (March 7), bringing the total number of cases in Malaysia to 93.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said all of the cases have been identified and the patients are currently under treatment.

"All the new cases recorded today are due to close contact with case number 33, where four cases, which are cases 85,86,87, and 93, were first-generation close contacts with case 33," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Dr Noor Hisham said the other six cases were second-generation close contacts of patient 33.

"All of the cases were detected during contact tracing and were admitted to the hospital for isolation and further treatment," he said.

Based on the ministry's latest investigations into close contacts of case 26, there is a cluster of Covid-19 infections linked to case 33, he added.

"A total of 132 close contacts have been identified with the case. From the total, 18 cases have tested positive, all currently under treatment and in stable condition.

"Some 38 close contacts have tested negative and been ordered to self-quarantine and home monitoring for 14 days.

"The lab results for 76 more close contacts have yet to be determined but all of them are reportedly healthy and have been put under self-quarantine and monitoring at home," he said.

He stressed that the ministry was still investigating and would continue conducting close contact tracing in a bid to stop the outbreak of the infection.

"The ministry would also like to say that case number 78, which was reported on March 6, was detected from a Patient Under Investigation (PUI).

"The patient has a travel history to Indonesia for a period of seven days from Feb 13 to 19.

"A total of 67 close contacts were also identified and their samples have been taken.

"All of the close contacts have been put under observation and monitoring at home," said Dr Noor Hisham.

He also noted that positive cases were among those PUIs for Covid-19, close contacts, and humanitarian aid trips.

"From the total, 75 cases involved Malaysians, 15 Chinese nationals and three from the United States, Japan and Italy," he said.

The ministry had also conducted Covid-19 surveillance to find sporadic cases and local cases in the country in patients who experienced influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infection with no travel history to any countries with contact or affected by positive Covid-19 cases.

"As of March 7, a total of 432 samples have been tested and none were positive," he said.