THIRTY medical personnel have contracted Covid-19 from their patients, said director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today. 

Speaking at his daily briefing today, Dr Noor Hisham said the infection took place because they were not aware the patients they were checking had the virus. 

“These 30 were infected because they worked in ICUs (intensive care units) and contracted the virus from sporadic cases or patients who were not diagnosed as Covid-19 patients. 

“As they were not Covid-19 patients, the staff did not wear the personal protective equipment and hence, got infected,” he said, adding that it was the same for those in the clinics who treated patients with cough and cold.

As a result, the ministry has also instructed all patients to be treated as Covid-19 positive until tested otherwise, he added. 

Earlier, he told the press conference the ministry was unable to trace the origins of 69 Covid-19 positive cases.

He said the ministry has conducted 8,025 random tests where only 69 were positive for Covid-19 while another 7,956 were negative. 

Malaysia today recorded 170 new infections, driving the number of cases to 3,963. 

One more person died today from Covid-19, bringing the death toll to 63. 

Dr Noor Hisham also said 80 patients have been discharged from hospital, bringing the number of recoveries to 1,321. 

He said 92 patients are in intensive care, with 50 needing respiratory assistance. – April 7, 2020.