PUTRAJAYA, March 23 — The Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed that 11 Malaysians who had travelled to Sulawesi, Indonesia to attend the international tabligh gathering had been detected in Tawau, Sabah yesterday.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said all of them had undergone Covid-19 screening and had been quarantined pending test results.
"It is true that we have been waiting for them in Tawau and we have detected 11 of them... the swab test has been carried out, we are just waiting for the result," he told a Covid-19 daily press conference here.
He said about 80 to 100 Malaysians had travelled to Sulawesi to attend the gathering based on an engagement session between him and the tabligh leaders.
Asked about the remaining Malaysians who attended the rally, he said they were likely still in the neighbouring country.
Local media reported that the Ijtimak Asia 2020 function planned for March 19 to 22 was cancelled in view of the worsening Covid-19 situation.
Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said of the 1,306 cumulative positive cases in Malaysia as of noon yesterday, 62 per cent of the cases or 743 patients were linked to the to the tabligh gathering cluster at Masjid Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.
"This means that one in every 10 individuals who attended the tabligh gathering tested positive of Covid-19," he said.
He said based on his discussions with leaders of the tabligh group, the gathering in Sri Petaling involved 16,000 people.
Of the total, 14,500 were Malaysians while the rest were foreign citizens from 25 countries, he said.
Dr Noor Hisham added that so far, 11,000 participants had undergone screening.
He said there had been no Covid-19 cases from other gatherings in the country.
— Bernama
