Sarawak assistant minister tests positive for coronavirus
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Sarawak Assistant Transport Minister Jerip Susil said he had been tested on April 1 after his maid was diagnosed with Covid-19.
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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KUCHING (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - An assistant minister from the Malaysian state of Sarawak has tested positive for coronavirus.
Sarawak Assistant Transport Minister Jerip Susil said he was admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) on Thursday night (April 2) after his test result came back positive.
He said he had been tested on Wednesday after his maid was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Monday.
"I have no symptoms, no cough, fever or running nose, so I'm surprised that I'm positive. My last contact with my maid was on March 17. The movement control order came into effect on March 18, so she has not been to my house since then," he said.
"It's just a very small window of exposure, still I was positive. Just imagine how contagious it can be."
Datuk Dr Jerip said his maid could have contracted the virus through contact with the Good News Fellowship Church conference cluster.
"I'm all right and I feel well, but I will be quarantined at SGH's isolation ward for 14 days," he added.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the state's deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah is now in self-quarantine after coming into close contact with Dr Jerip at a recent meeting.
Datuk Uggah's press officer Edward Subeng said both he and his boss were issued a 14-day quarantine notice from the Health Department.
State Local Government and Housing Minister Sim Kui Hian is also isolating himself at home after attending a meeting on March 27 where one of the participants was later diagnosed as Covid-19 positive.
"Though I am well (no cough, no short of breath, no fever), am not Covid-19 positive, as part of the SOP (standard operating procedure) for close proximity to Covid-19 positive cases, precautionary measures mean all of us in the meeting will need to be (in) self-isolation at home," he wrote on Facebook.
Mr Uggah and Datuk Seri Dr Sim are the latest Sarawak ministers to be in quarantine.
It was reported on Thursday that deputy Chief Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Fatimah Abdullah were also undergoing 14-day quarantine at home.
They had attended a meeting with a participant from Kota Samarahan who was later confirmed to have the virus.
