Parliament Covid-19 case count now up to 85

Dewan Rakyat. -Bernama filepic

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has confirmed the discovery of more Covid-19 cases linked to Parliament, bringing the number of infections related to the recent special sittings to 85.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said at least six cases are believed to be of the Delta variant based on PCR Genotyping Assay tests.

“Based on the case screening conducted by the Health Ministry on the recent special sitting, a total of 85 cases have been found and confirmed with RT-PCR tests.

“This includes 56 cases detected from pre-Dewan Rakyat screening and four more traced from close contacts.

“A further 17 cases were detected during the special sitting, nine of which have been reported before.

“Between July 30 and Aug 5, five new cases were found and from that, three infections were traced to close contacts.

“There are also eight cases detected from pre-Dewan Negara screenings,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement on Friday (Aug 6).

He said of the new cases found, five were found to have RT PCR CT (cycle threshold) values between 18 and 27.68.

A CT value below 30 suggests that it is a recent case and is infectious.

Dr Noor Hisham also said one close contact case is a seven-year-old.

According to him, initial investigations by the ministry found that the infections in Parliament are likely to have spread through the sharing of facilities such as surau and toilets.

“The ministry will continue to monitor the health status of all the positive cases, including the close contacts and new cases that are still within the incubation period.

“Therefore, individuals who attended Parliament during the special sitting are urged to continue monitoring their health through the self-assessment tool on MySejahtera.

“Those who develop symptoms must go for Covid-19 tests and seek immediate treatment,” said Dr Noor Hisham.