THERE is no cause for Malaysians to be alarmed over the first confirmed case of local transmission of the 2019 novel coronavirus, said Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

“There is no need to panic over this. There has to be close contact of within a metre for one to be infected,” he said in a press conference, in Putrajaya, today.

“The local case mentioned yesterday involved a woman who was in the same car as her infected brother. They were in close contact.

“Even if we were in the same room and if we had face masks on, we would only be infected if we were within a metre of the infected person. This is proven scientifically.”

The Health Ministry yesterday confirmed that the sister of a Malaysian man who tested positive for the virus after returning from a seven-day trip to Singapore, has also been infected.

The 40-year-old woman from Sungai Petani is the first case of local transmission of the virus. She was infected when the brother returned home on Chinese New Year on January 23.

She is now in the isolation ward of the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star and is in stable condition.

Dzulkefly said yesterday that the woman had complained of sore throat on February 1 and a cough two days later and sought treatment at a private clinic.

In the press conference today, Dzulkefly revealed that a new case of the virus has been confirmed. The patient is a 59-year-old woman from Wuhan on holiday in Johor Baru with her family.

She is the 15th 2019-nCoV case in the country. Of the 15 cases, eleven cases are Chinese citizens and four, Malaysians. – February 7, 2020.