PETALING JAYA: A total of 149 Covid-19 cases were found through screenings of travellers to Langkawi, says the Health Ministry.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this was out of 40,458 travellers who were screened at seven airports and two ferry terminals.
“A total of 36,842 took rapid Covid-19 tests at airports and ferry terminals en route to Langkawi. Of that, 149 tested positive while another 186 individuals were identified as close contacts to the positive cases.
“They have all been given home surveillance orders (HSO),” Dr Noor Hisham said in his daily Covid-19 statement on Monday (Oct 4).
Dr Noor Hisham said another 641 travellers had undergone RT-PCR tests before departing for Langkawi and all had tested negative.
Dr Noor Hisham also said on Sept 26, the Kedah Health Department found a positive case involving a three-year-old child from Nilai, Negri Sembilan.
“The child and the parents travelled to Langkawi via KLIA2. The parents are fully vaccinated and they had tested negative when screened at the airport. They were also not close contacts to any positive cases. The child was asymptomatic and the family is under HSO,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
The Kedah Health Department also detected a workplace cluster involving employees of a hotel in Langkawi.
“A total of 59 positive cases were detected from a screening on 254 people. Early investigations found that the virus was from the community before being transmitted at the workplace due to non-compliance with standard operating procedures at work and staff accommodation.
“All close contacts have been identified, swabbed and given HSOs for 10 days. So far, the transmission is under control,” said Dr Noor Hisham, adding that all the cases are Category 1 and 2 and all workers are fully vaccinated.
With more tourist destinations set to be reopened in October, Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry will continue working closely with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to conduct risk assessments at the holiday spots.
“The Health Ministry calls on all Malaysians to together play a role in the effort to lead the country out of the pandemic.
“For that, the people are reminded to adhere to the SOPs and to strengthen self-health actions.
“If you develop symptoms during your travels or upon returning from a holiday, get early treatment or perform a self-test.
“If you test positive, be responsible and isolate yourselves.
“We are the frontliners in terms of protecting families and the community from Covid-19 virus infection.
“As the Health Minister said, we are not safe until all are safe,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
