New cluster detected among cleaning company staff

Ragananthini Vethasalam Ragananthini Vethasalam Updated 3 years ago · Published on 29 May 2020 6:27PM · 1 Comments

Covid-19 frontliners seen in Kuala Lumpur’s Pudu, which is under the semi-enhanced movement-control order, yesterday. The country today records 103 new infections, up from just 10 yesterday. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, May 29, 2020.

A NEW coronavirus cluster has been detected, involving 24 infections among employees of a cleaning company, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today.

The director-general of health said all of them are Bangladeshis.

“Of the 24 cases in this cluster, 20 were living in a hostel in Kuala Langat, Selangor. Four were staying in an apartment in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.

“They are currently being treated at Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital in Seremban,” he told a daily press conference on Covid-19 in Putrajaya.

A total of 150 foreign workers with the company were screened for the virus, and the remaining 126 returned negative results.

The workers were sent by their employer for testing at a private clinic.

Dr Noor Hisham lauded the company for “taking the initiative to screen their workers”, saying the cluster’s discovery was made possible because of this, as all those who tested positive are asymptomatic.

He said contact-tracing and screening at the workers’ lodgings will continue, with 428 close contacts already identified.

After a record low of 10 new cases yesterday, today saw a surge to 103, including the infections in the new cluster.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd earlier today told The Malaysian Insight that 151 contract cleaning staff at Kuala Lumpur International Airport have undergone Covid-19 testing.

“A total of 151 workers have gone through the screening. We have yet to receive the results from the Health Ministry.”

The airport operator was asked to verify a message being shared on WhatsApp claiming that 24 Bangladeshi cleaners at KLIA’s main terminal have tested positive for the disease. – May 29, 2020.

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Comments

  • One area which exposes locals to infection is the FOMEMA foreign worker examination. Most of those who go for this screening have not been tested for Covid-19. The authorities should make it compulsory for these workers to do the RT-PCR test and be shown negative before their FOMEMA screening.

    Posted 3 years ago by Simple Sulaiman · Reply