PETALING JAYA: There have been 139 sporadic cases of Covid-19 being detected in which the source of infection is not known, says Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
“We have a total of 139 cases (cumulatively) that we have screened in the community among ILI (influenza-like illness) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) patients,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya on Sunday (April 19).
He said it was vital that the Health Ministry continues its surveillance of possible sporadic cases, which are detected among such ILI and SARI patients.
“From day one, we have started screening (such cases). What is more important is that we want to know if in the last two weeks, whether there was any increase (of Covid-19 detected) in ILI and SARI cases, or whether this has been decreasing.
“This will be an indication to us to look into whether the virus is still in the community.
“If we are doing well, the (Covid-19 cases) among the ILI and SARI patients will be decreasing,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham added that Malaysia’s rate of positive cases out of all samples taken is 5%, which is better than the 10% benchmark set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“According to WHO, (for instance) when 100 people are screened, and 50 people test positive, that means that there are many cases in the community that we have yet to detect.
“That means that 50% of the cases turn up positive, and this means that we must increase our screening.
“Hence, the benchmark set by WHO to show that we are doing enough screenings is 10%, but our rate is at 5%,” he said, adding the rate in other countries is about 7%.
He added that cumulatively, the Ministry has screened 109,308 individuals, and out of that number, 5,389 people tested positive.
He was responding to a question about 40 Covid-19 cases having been detected among ILI and SARI patients in the last 17 days, even during the MCO.
“We have a total of 139 cases (cumulatively) that we have screened in the community among ILI (influenza-like illness) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) patients,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya on Sunday (April 19).
He said it was vital that the Health Ministry continues its surveillance of possible sporadic cases, which are detected among such ILI and SARI patients.
“From day one, we have started screening (such cases). What is more important is that we want to know if in the last two weeks, whether there was any increase (of Covid-19 detected) in ILI and SARI cases, or whether this has been decreasing.
“This will be an indication to us to look into whether the virus is still in the community.
“If we are doing well, the (Covid-19 cases) among the ILI and SARI patients will be decreasing,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham added that Malaysia’s rate of positive cases out of all samples taken is 5%, which is better than the 10% benchmark set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“According to WHO, (for instance) when 100 people are screened, and 50 people test positive, that means that there are many cases in the community that we have yet to detect.
“That means that 50% of the cases turn up positive, and this means that we must increase our screening.
“Hence, the benchmark set by WHO to show that we are doing enough screenings is 10%, but our rate is at 5%,” he said, adding the rate in other countries is about 7%.
He added that cumulatively, the Ministry has screened 109,308 individuals, and out of that number, 5,389 people tested positive.
He was responding to a question about 40 Covid-19 cases having been detected among ILI and SARI patients in the last 17 days, even during the MCO.
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