A 63-year-old Chinese national who had been warded at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for the Wuhan virus has recovered and will be discharged this evening.

In a statement today, Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the patient was treated with symptomatic treatment and has twice tested negative for the virus.

“We have done two tests on him on the 7th and 8th of February and both showed negative results. He has shown improvement and will be discharged today,” he said.

Last week, a four-year-old girl who was tested positive for the novel coronavirus was discharged from a hospital in Langkawi after she successfully recovered from the disease.

Last night, a Chinese national who was admitted to the isolation ward in Hospital Permai, Johor Baru on January 24 has also been discharged.

Patients in Malaysia who have recovered from the virus now stand at three. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases in the country has reached 17 people.

The Health Ministry said in a statement today the latest case is that of a woman who is the mother-in-law to a previously confirmed Malaysian victim, with whom she had had direct contact.

The woman has been placed in an isolation ward in Sg Buloh Hospital. 

The ministry said the victim had direct contact with the earlier victim during Chinese New Year with other family members from January 26 to 28. She has never been to China, where the virus originated.

This morning, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the government has agreed to impose a travel ban for Chinese from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces after restricting tourists from Hubei province.

She told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the travel restrictions will be enforced in accordance with the Chinese government’s lockdown of territories.

Beijing has sealed off 16 cities in Hubei, including its capital, Wuhan, five cities in Zhejiang and two cities in Jiangsu.

Wan Azizah said Malaysia has no intention of imposing a total ban on travel between the countries as the virus situation is still under control.

The death toll from the virus has surpassed that of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed 774 people from 2002 to 2003. – February 9, 2020.