High fever not only sign of Covid-19; lethargy, smell and taste loss too, says Dr Noor Hisham

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Having a high temperature is not the only sign of a Covid-19 infection. Lethargy and a loss of smell and taste are indications too, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He advised those with a mild fever or who are feeling listless to stay at home and not go to work until they feel better.

This comes after Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was ordered to undergo 14 days of self-quarantine after an attendee of a post-Cabinet meeting last Wednesday tested positive for Covid-19.

“We took the temperature of the officer in question but it was normal. He had no fever, cough or flu but he was feeling exhausted and said he had lost sense of smell and taste.

“These are also the symptoms of someone who may be infected with Covid-19. So if this is you, stay at home and don’t go to the office,” said Dr Noor Hisham today during his daily press briefing on Covid-19.

“Therefore, we had to conduct a test and it came out positive. So even if you have equipment and it shows everything is normal, there are other signs that we need to look out for,” he added.

Currently, temperature checks are being conducted at every public place but some of the temperature gauges are said to give inconsistent results.

As such, Dr Noor Hisham was explaining how someone with Covid-19 may not necessarily have a high temperature only.

Meanwhile, individuals who were told to undergo mandatory quarantine at home but were caught out and about will be subject to the full letter of the law.

“If you have been asked to quarantine at home, it means you must stay at home and not go out.

“What we will do is monitor those who are under our surveillance. If we find that they have been going out, it means they have broken the quarantine order and we can take action against them under Section 14 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342),” he added.

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