Two new cases linked to ‘Novgorod cluster', says Dr Noor Hisham

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry has detected two new cases linked to the “Novgorod cluster” on Tuesday (July 14), bringing the number of cases to five altogether.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that one case was a close contact of the first case.

The other case was that of a Malaysian who returned from Russia on Monday (July 13) and was detected to be positive using the Rapid Test Kit (RTK) antigen test at the airport.

He was brought to the Sungai Buloh Hospital for treatment.

He happened to be a close contact of the other two Malaysians who had returned from Novgorod in Russia earlier.

Dr Noor Hisham said that altogether, a total of 22 people have been screened for the virus, with five testing positive so far.

Of the 17 close contacts who have tested negative so far, Dr Noor Hisham said that 13 were passengers on the same flight, while four others were family members of the first two cases in the cluster.

Of the five positive cases, three have been admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital while two are in the Melaka Hospital, one of them being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).

“Investigations are being conducted and contact tracing of the new positive cases in the cluster are ongoing, including contacts in the aircraft, ” Dr Noor Hisham said during a press briefing on the Covid-19 situation in the country on Tuesday (July 14).

He said the Kuala Lumpur International Airport health office has instructed the airline to conduct disinfection and the cleaning of the aircraft on July 13.

“The cabin crew who dealt with those found positive have been told to undergo screening. The cause of the infection of the cluster is under investigation, ” he said.