PATIENTS positive for Covid-19 who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms will remain in hospital, said director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The main investigative period for any positive patient is 14 days, he added.

“We still need to carry out tests and if the patient is positive then we have to ensure the patient stays in the hospital.

“This is something different from other countries. If you look at the UK or Italy, positive patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms are advised to stay at home,” he said at the ministry’s daily press conference in Putrajaya today.

Noor Hisham said, in Malaysia, positive patients will be isolated in hospital, so they can be monitored closely.

He was responding to a question about national hammer thrower Jackie Wong, 27, who is the first Malaysian athlete to test positive for the virus and, due to inconsistent results, remains in hospital.

He has so far been in isolation for treatment at Sibu Hospital in Sarawak since March 15.

He said the 88% of asymptomatic and mild symptom patients are receiving treatment.

“Due to the close monitoring and treatment given, we can see that our outcome is much better.”

Malaysia today reported 85 new Covid-19 cases, making it the first time in about a month that the country reported less than 100 cases in a 24-hour period.

Meanwhile, there have now been 5,072 new cases reported.

One more person died today, bring the death toll to 83. – April 15, 2020.