PMO: Muhyiddin not required by MOH to wear quarantine band, did not breach orders

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has not breached the Health Ministry’s orders on quarantine as he is actually not required to wear a quarantine band, and has again tested negative for Covid-19 in his latest test results yesterday, his office clarified today.

The Prime Minister’s Office explained that the Health Ministry did not give the prime minister a quarantine band to be worn while he is undergoing self-quarantine at home.

“Based on the risk assessment carried out by Health Ministry officers on October 5, YAB Prime Minister was advised to undergo self-quarantine and self-health monitoring at home each day for 14 days using the home assessment tool in the MySejahtera app.

“In relation to that, he is not required by the Health Ministry to wear the quarantine band.

“Therefore, accusations that the YAB Prime Minister breached the Health Ministry’s orders is not true,” the PMO said in a statement posted on Muhyiddin’s official Facebook page.

The PMO also took the opportunity to provide an update on Muhyiddin’s Covid-19 test results.

“The result of the Covid-19 test carried out on October 5, 2020 on YAB Prime Minister was confirmed to be NEGATIVE on October 6, 2020,” it said, highlighting that Muhyiddin’s previous tests, done in the past three weeks on September 22, 26 and 29, also came back.

The PMO said that Muhyiddin has however been advised to immediately obtain treatment at the nearest health facility if he experiences symptoms during this monitoring period.

“As of now, the prime minister’s health condition is good. Despite that, he will continue to undergo self-quarantine until the 14-day period set by the Health Ministry is completed,” it added.

On October 5, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad, who is in charge of religious affairs, confirmed that he had tested positive for Covid-19. He had previously attended the National Security Council’s special meeting on Covid-19 on October 3 which was chaired by Muhyiddin.

Prior to Zulkifli’s announcement, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had earlier on October 5 announced that an individual who attended an October 3 meeting at the Prime Minister’s Department had tested positive for Covid-19, and that this individual did not display any symptoms during the meeting.

Dr Noor Hisham had said that attendees of the October 3 meeting were classified into two categories, with those identified as close contact issued a 14-day home surveillance order (HSO) from the day of contact and given a quarantine band to wear, while those who are not close contacts were required to carry out self-health monitoring for 14 days at home using the MySejahtera app’s home assessment tool.

Also on October 5, Muhyiddin said he was one of the October 3 meeting attendees that was identified as not having been in close contact with Zulkifli, and was asked to self-quarantine for 14 days from October 3 to October 16.

Muhyiddin also highlighted that he had been carrying out Covid-19 tests every two weeks since April 2020 as a precautionary measure and that all results have so far returned negative for Covid-19.

Other than Muhyiddin, he yesterday confirmed that seven ministers and six deputy ministers are also currently undergoing quarantine at home, saying that they will not be exempted from punishment if they flout the rules.

Muhyiddin also assured that there are no double standards when it comes to complying with the Health Ministry’s standard operating procedures and the quarantine order, and that this was in fact the second time that he was undergoing self-quarantine.

Muhyiddin has assured that government affairs will not be disrupted as he will continue to work from home and also use video conferencing for meetings, while two ministers also confirmed that they are still able to carry out their duty as usual even while under quarantine and without face-to-face interaction by using circulars.

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