First Malaysian Covid 19 Patient Recovers Says Minister

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Covid-19 has infected more than 70,000 people worldwide. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has confirmed that the first Malaysian who tested positive for Covid-19 has recovered and has been discharged from the hospital today
He said the 41-year-old Malaysian male was the ninth positive case in Malaysia and had received treatment at the Sungai Buloh Hospital
The man, who is from Selangor, had travelled to Singapore to attend a conference from January 16 to 23
The conference was attended by several international delegations including from China
He returned to Malaysia on Jan 23. On Jan 29, he sought treatment at a private health facility in Selangor for fever and cough
He was referred to the Sungai Buloh Hospital on Feb 2, and was admitted to an isolation ward. He was confirmed positive for 2019-nCoV on Feb 3
“No new Covid-19 case has been reported to the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) today,” he added
The total cumulative confirmed Covid-19 cases in Malaysia remains at 22, with 13 still receiving treatment in hospitals
Out of the confirmed cases, 12 are from Patient-Under-Investigation (PUI), eight are from close contacts, and two are Malaysians evacuated from Wuhan
Out of the 22 cases, 15 are Chinese nationals, six are Malaysians and one US national. Out of this, nine cases have been discharged
Dzulkefly also said that a repeat test confirmed that the female US citizen who disembarked from a cruise ship in Cambodia was positive for Covid-19
He said he had relayed the information to his Cambodian counterpart, Mam Bunheng, to facilitate cooperation between the two countries in fighting the spread of Covid-19
He was referring to an 83-year-old American woman who had arrived in Malaysia on Saturday after disembarking in Cambodia from the MS Westerdam cruise ship
The passengers were tested regularly while onboard and Cambodia had also tested the passengers once it docked
None was found to have the Covid-19 that had killed more than 1,700 people, mostly in China
The MS Westerdam’s operator had then said more tests were needed to confirm after the American passenger was tested positive in Malaysia
The American woman flew to Malaysia on Friday from Cambodia along with 144 other passengers from the ship, said the ministry
The woman and her 85-year-old husband were the only ones of the 145 to show symptoms of the Covid-19 infection, said the ministry, adding that her husband had tested negative

The virus, which broke out in Wuhan, China, has already claimed 1,777 lives and infected 71,441 people worldwide. - FMT

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