PUTRAJAYA, Feb 18 -- All 107 individuals comprising Malaysians and their family members who were evacuated from Wuhan, China on Feb 4 following COVID-19 outbreak in the republic, have been allowed to leave the monitoring centre in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan after they completed their quarantine process.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said repeated tests conducted on them were found to be negative for the COVID-19 infection.
“Those who are allowed home today included the two confirmed COVID-19 cases treated at Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital in Seremban,” he told a daily media briefing on the COVID-19 infection here today.
Dzulkefly said, however, one of them was currently admitted into a hospital for a health issue that was not related to COVID-19.
The group was ferried home via a special flight under the Humanitarian and Disaster Relief mission, carried out by the Malaysian government.
Upon their arrival, they were taken to the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) to undergo a 14-day monitoring process, starting from Feb 4.
Meanwhile, Dzulkefly said the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Malaysia remained at 22 with 11 cases still receiving treatment at hospitals.
“The number of cases that have been discharged is 11 patients to date,” he said, adding that no new cases reported today.
The 22 cases included 12 from patient-under-investigation (PUI) cases, eight from close contacts and two among evacuees from Wuhan.
Of the 22 patients, 15 are China nationals, six Malaysians and one American.
To date, a total of 583 PUIs have been reported to the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC). As for the close contacts of the positive patients, 230 cases tested negative and 13 are still waiting for laboratory results.
Meanwhile, those who had been placed under quarantine at AKEPT were seen leaving the centre at 4.30 pm today.
According to the Ministry of Health team’s coordinator Dr Nur Adibah Shaharul, they were tested negative for COVID-19 in the final test conducted yesterday.
Dr Nur Adibah who is also coordinating medical officer at Seremban district health office said each individual underwent three tests throughout the surveillance period.
The first test was conducted on Feb 4 at the Air Disaster Unit upon their arrival at the airport, while the second test was carried out on Feb 10 and the final test was done yesterday (Feb17), she told Bernama.
Asked on procedures after the quarantine process completed, Dr Nur Adibah said her team would carry out a clinical cleaning at the centre by disinfecting everything, including the corridors of the building.
---BERNAMA
A quarantine job well done
Last Update :
18/02/2020 09:53 PM
By Muhammad Saufee Rosman
NILAI (Negeri Sembilan), Feb 18 -- Despite the massive evacuation and monitoring exercise, medical and other personnel subjected themselves to a painstaking process in caring for the 107 Malaysians and several of their non-Malaysian relatives during the 14-day quarantine after their having been airlifted out of COVID-19-hit Wuhan in China.
All the 107 have been given the green light to leave the Home Surveillance Centre (HSC) at the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) here in Negeri Sembilan after they were found to be free of the disease. One of them, however, is being treated at a hospital for a non-COVID-19 ailment.
It was a heavy task indeed for the 158 people made up of medical, security and welfare officers who were under “quarantine” themselves as they discharged their duty at AKEPT from Feb 4 to 18.
The 158 comprised 30 medical officers and assistant medical officers of the Health Ministry; 25 staff of the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA); 88 officers and personnel of the Royal Malaysia Police and 15 staff of the Social Welfare Department.
A Bernama team was given a glimpse of how the 107 people under surveillance (PUS) were taken care of in that contained environment at AKEPT under strict clinical procedures and tight security control.
Dr Nur Adibah Shaharul, the coordinating officer of the Health Ministry team at the HSC, said every personnel who had to come into contact with those under surveillance had to don the personal protection equipment every time they entered the isolated red zone.
“This was to prevent cross-contamination,” she told Bernama.
She said the ministry only activates the medical and health teams during a disaster but, this time, the ministry infection control division also went to the ground.
Dr Nur Adibah also spoke of the thoroughness in the procedure regarding the “gowning and degowning” of every personnel who had to enter the red zone and the need for them to take a bath and dispose of their surgical scrubs properly.
On Feb 4, the government had airlifted out of Wuhan 107 people comprising Malaysians and non-Malaysian spouses and children who had been stranded in the Chinese city that had been under a lockdown since Jan 23 due to the epidemic.
Questioned about the daily routine of the ministry team, Dr Nur Adibah said the members conducted a medical check-up on all those under surveillance at 9 am, checking their temperature and finding out whether they had cold or cough.
“The team members checked on their health condition from a safe distance, at least one metre away,” she said, adding that this procedure was also strictly observed when meals were served.
“If any person under surveillance wanted to communicate with the medical personnel, this was done via the social media applications such as WeChat,” she said.
Dr Nur Adibah said the team also disinfected the red zone once a day after breakfast. Meals were served by Social Welfare Department staff and members of SMART, the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team.
Laundry collection and waste disposal was carried out twice a day.
Meanwhile, NADMA adopted the principle of “minimising exposure and maximising outcome”, said Che Siti Noor Koh Poh Lee @ Che Mamat, principal assistant director of the NADMA Mitigation Division.
She said that though all the people under surveillance had tested negative for COVID-19, precautionary measures were taken all the same.
She also said that only six personnel were allowed into the red zone at any one time to discharge their duty, such as sending meals four times a day as well as conducting health checks.
“We had kept to the minimum the number of people entering the red zone. For example, we got those sending the meals to also take along personal items sent by relatives for those in quarantine,” she said.
-- BERNAMA
18/02/2020 09:53 PM
By Muhammad Saufee Rosman
NILAI (Negeri Sembilan), Feb 18 -- Despite the massive evacuation and monitoring exercise, medical and other personnel subjected themselves to a painstaking process in caring for the 107 Malaysians and several of their non-Malaysian relatives during the 14-day quarantine after their having been airlifted out of COVID-19-hit Wuhan in China.
All the 107 have been given the green light to leave the Home Surveillance Centre (HSC) at the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) here in Negeri Sembilan after they were found to be free of the disease. One of them, however, is being treated at a hospital for a non-COVID-19 ailment.
It was a heavy task indeed for the 158 people made up of medical, security and welfare officers who were under “quarantine” themselves as they discharged their duty at AKEPT from Feb 4 to 18.
The 158 comprised 30 medical officers and assistant medical officers of the Health Ministry; 25 staff of the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA); 88 officers and personnel of the Royal Malaysia Police and 15 staff of the Social Welfare Department.
A Bernama team was given a glimpse of how the 107 people under surveillance (PUS) were taken care of in that contained environment at AKEPT under strict clinical procedures and tight security control.
Dr Nur Adibah Shaharul, the coordinating officer of the Health Ministry team at the HSC, said every personnel who had to come into contact with those under surveillance had to don the personal protection equipment every time they entered the isolated red zone.
“This was to prevent cross-contamination,” she told Bernama.
She said the ministry only activates the medical and health teams during a disaster but, this time, the ministry infection control division also went to the ground.
Dr Nur Adibah also spoke of the thoroughness in the procedure regarding the “gowning and degowning” of every personnel who had to enter the red zone and the need for them to take a bath and dispose of their surgical scrubs properly.
On Feb 4, the government had airlifted out of Wuhan 107 people comprising Malaysians and non-Malaysian spouses and children who had been stranded in the Chinese city that had been under a lockdown since Jan 23 due to the epidemic.
Questioned about the daily routine of the ministry team, Dr Nur Adibah said the members conducted a medical check-up on all those under surveillance at 9 am, checking their temperature and finding out whether they had cold or cough.
“The team members checked on their health condition from a safe distance, at least one metre away,” she said, adding that this procedure was also strictly observed when meals were served.
“If any person under surveillance wanted to communicate with the medical personnel, this was done via the social media applications such as WeChat,” she said.
Dr Nur Adibah said the team also disinfected the red zone once a day after breakfast. Meals were served by Social Welfare Department staff and members of SMART, the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team.
Laundry collection and waste disposal was carried out twice a day.
Meanwhile, NADMA adopted the principle of “minimising exposure and maximising outcome”, said Che Siti Noor Koh Poh Lee @ Che Mamat, principal assistant director of the NADMA Mitigation Division.
She said that though all the people under surveillance had tested negative for COVID-19, precautionary measures were taken all the same.
She also said that only six personnel were allowed into the red zone at any one time to discharge their duty, such as sending meals four times a day as well as conducting health checks.
“We had kept to the minimum the number of people entering the red zone. For example, we got those sending the meals to also take along personal items sent by relatives for those in quarantine,” she said.
-- BERNAMA
