KUALA LUMPUR: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has expressed his sadness and concern over the news that several healthcare workers from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and private healthcare facilities have been infected with Covid-19.
Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said Al-Sultan Abdullah was extremely concerned about the situation as the healthcare workers were the frontliners who have spent most of their time and energy to help contain the pandemic.
“As at March 21, the MOH has confirmed that 19 of its staff and five from the private healthcare facilities have been infected with Covid-19, while as at noon today, 212 new positive Covid-19 cases were reported, bringing the total to 1,518.
“Two of the 19 MOH staff are currently receiving treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and investigations found that all of them were close contacts to the first and second generations of the tabligh clusters,” he said in a statement here today.
As of March 22, a total of 460 MOH healthcare workers had been tested negative for Covid-19, while the remaining 190 were awaiting results.
As of this afternoon, MOH confirmed that the Covid-19 total deaths in Malaysia stood at 14.
Ahmad Fadil said in this regard, His Majesty called on the people to be honest and truthful with health personnel in giving information about their travel history and close contacts to determine the source of infection thus containing the spread of the disease.
“It is important to be honest when undergoing the screening as the information given is vital to the MOH. This will also prevent MOH frontline personnel from getting infected.
“Al-Sultan Abdullah also urged those who had close contacts with confirmed Covid-19 cases and had developed symptoms of the disease to immediately go the nearest government health facilities for examination. Don’t take symptoms lightly,” he said.
Ahmad Fadil said the King also expressed his appreciation for the sacrifice, commitment and dedication of Covid-19 frontliners including personnel of MOH, government agencies as well as private healthcare facilities.
“His Majesty hopes that all of them will continue to remain resilient in carrying out their responsibilities for the safety of the people and our beloved country,” he added.
Al-Sultan Abdullah reiterated his advice for the people to comply with the Movement Control Order and follow the guidelines issued by the MOH to end the pandemic.
His Majesty also conveyed his condolences to family members of those who have died of Covid-19 and called on Malaysians to continue praying so that the Covid-19 situation can be tackled as soon as possible. - Bernama
