Malaysia’s Communications Minister, Saifuddin Abdullah on Thursday tested positive to COVID-19, as the country’s health authorities reported over 3,000 new cases for the second day in a row.
Apologising “for the inconvenience caused,’’ Saifuddin said he will quarantine at home while awaiting admission to a COVID-19 hospital, but “will continue to monitor and ensure that all the affairs of the ministry run smoothly.’’
Saifuddin’s was among over 3,330 new cases announced by the Ministry of Health on Thursday, after over 3,100 cases were reported on Wednesday, the first day in two months that the more than 3,000 cases were confirmed.
Wednesday’s number took Malaysia’s cumulative caseload to over 400,000, around 26,000 of which are listed by the ministry as `active.’
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Fifteen virus-related deaths were reported on Wednesday, meaning that 1,477 people have died in Malaysia after testing positive.
In mid-January, Malaysia’s government imposed a second lockdown lasting just over one month, after new daily case numbers surged in late 2020.
With vaccinations starting in late February, the government earlier said it would not impose a third lockdown, citing potential economic damage after 2020 first lockdown coincided with a quarterly gross domestic product contraction of around 17 percent.
However Defence Minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that travel between Malaysia’s 13 states and regions would not be allowed for next month’s holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
