FIVE suspected cases of the novel coronavirus have been detected in the last 24 hours, said Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad today.

They are currently quarantined and awaiting lab reports, he said.

“We have five suspected people and we are waiting for lab report. We will know in a short time if they are confirmed,” he told the media at a press conference in klia2. 

Of the five, two were detected in Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur (2) and Bintulu (1).

All five are Chinese tourists.

Dzulkefly said the number of confirmed cases remains at four and all are Chinese nationals holidaying here.

China said today the death toll from a deadly viral outbreak spiked to 80 as the hard-hit epicentre province of Hubei suffered 24 new fatalities, while total confirmed cases nationwide rose sharply to 2,744.

While there were no new deaths confirmed outside of Hubei, the national tally of verified infections rose by 769, around half of them in Hubei, the National Health Commission said. It said 461 of those infected were in serious condition.

China has locked down Hubei in the country’s centre, an unprecedented operation affecting tens of millions of people and intended to slow transmission of the respiratory virus.

The previously unknown contagion has caused global concern because of its similarity to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pathogen, which killed hundreds across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.

The health minister said that while under quarantine, the patients are receiving symptomatic treatments.

They are being are treated at Langkawi Hospital, Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Bintulu Hospital. 

All are in stable condition.

Dr Dzulkefly also urged all Malaysians to get news from reliable sources and not to speculate or spread unverified news on social media. – January 27, 2020.