ONE of the two people who recently tested positive for Covid-19 upon their arrival in Cambodia from Malaysia is a former patient who made a recovery while he was here, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The director-general of health said the 23-year-old Cambodian, who was Malaysia’s “Case 1,051”, was discharged after he recovered.

The patient might have tested positive in Cambodia due to “virus shedding”, said Dr Noor Hisham.

“One of them is an old case in Malaysia, Case 1,051. Although he has tested positive (in Cambodia), it might be because of virus shedding. Maybe, it is not so worrying.

“We discharged the patient, and they (Cambodian health authorities) might have detected the virus through an RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test, but the virus detected is non-active,” he told a Covid-19 press briefing in Putrajaya today.

Yesterday, Cambodia’s Khmer Times reported that two passengers who arrived in Phnom Penh from Malaysia on June 26 via a direct flight tested positive for the disease.

It said imported cases since April 12 have climbed to 19.

Dr Noor Hisham said the second patient is a 15-year-old Cambodian studying at a Malaysian tahfiz school.

He said Cambodian authorities have informed the Malaysian Health Ministry about the infection, adding that case detection has begun.

The ministry will also work with the airports and airline involved to identify those who may have had close contact with the two patients, he said.

“Active case detection is being conducted. We have taken immediate action to see who was with them, who has been exposed to them.

“We will screen those identified.”

Today, Malaysia reported three new coronavirus cases, 16 recoveries and no deaths. – June 29, 2020.