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Health D-G: Over 20,000 from tabligh cluster tested, 70pc of them negative for Covid-19

A man wears a protective mask as he attends Friday prayers at Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque in Shah Alam March 13, 2020. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
A man wears a protective mask as he attends Friday prayers at Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque in Shah Alam March 13, 2020. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

PUTRAJAYA, April 7 — A total of 20,035 samples from the Sri Petaling tabligh gathering cluster have been tested for Covid-19 with nearly 70 per cent of those coming back as negative, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.

He said of the samples collected so far, 1,657 have come back as positive for Covid-19, 13,744 as negative, while the results for another 4,634 samples are still pending.

“Of the 1,657 Covid-19 positive cases, these include their family members as well,” Dr Noor Hisham said at the daily Health Ministry press conference.

Presently the ministry is also tracing back family histories to document the spread or transmission of Covid-19, as well as monitoring the family members of those who attended the tabligh event as well.

“There are two high-risk groups with regards to the Sri Petaling cluster, the first being the attendees’ family members and the second being the healthcare workers treating them.

“As it stands there are 765 index cases for the Sri Petaling cluster, which has now extended across five generations. The first generation had 679 infection cases, the second had 180 cases, the third had 19 cases, while the fourth and fifth generations had seven cases respectively,” he said.

In addition to the Sri Petaling cluster, Dr Noor Hisham said several more positive cases have been identified in the Bandar Baru Bangi wedding cluster announced yesterday.

“The ministry has established a link to four more cases on the Bandar Baru Bangi wedding cluster after further investigation, bringing the total from 88 cases to 92 cases,” he said.

Besides the two, other major clusters included from a religious seminar in a Kuching church,  from a traveller who returned from Italy.

As of 12pm today, 170 new Covid-19 positive cases have been reported, bringing the total number of cases in Malaysia to 3,963. Eighty people have recovered and were allowed to be discharged today, bringing the total number of recoveries and discharges to 1,321.

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