JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A toddler from China whose parents dodged quarantine after the child was suspected to have been infected with the Wuhan coronavirus has been detained at the Senai International Airport here.

Johor police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din said that the trio was detained on Saturday night (Jan 25).

"They have been sent to the hospital for quarantine and further examination as well as treatment," he said when contacted here.

It was earlier reported that the two-year-old's parents had avoided being quarantined despite instructions from the hospital.

According to a police report filed by a doctor from Hospital Sultanah Aminah, the two-year-old patient who was referred to the hospital by a private hospital had influenza-like symptoms and was suspected to have the Wuhan coronavirus.

The doctor, along with another paediatrician had told the parents that the child had to be sent for quarantine at Hospital Permai and for further examination but the parents refused as they had to catch a flight the next day.

Johor Health director Dr Aman Rabu said that the department is investigating the case and would send a result of the report to the Health Ministry.

Four people have been confirmed to have the Wuhan coronavirus in Malaysia.

The first three cases were Chinese citizens who entered Malaysia via Johor Baru. They were the wife, 65, and grandsons of a 66-year-old man from Wuhan, who is currently being treated in Singapore for the same virus. The children are aged 11 and two.

The fourth case is a 40-year-old man from Wuhan, China, who was part of a tour group that travelled by bus to the southern state of Johor from Singapore on Wednesday. The man had suffered from fever the next day and sought treatment at a hospital in Johor.