MCO day 69: New daily Covid-19 cases surge to 172, mainly at immigration depots

PUTRAJAYA, 25 May 2020:

A total of 172 new Covid-19 cases – mostly involving illegal immigrants at detention centres – were reported in Malaysia today, bringing the cumulative figure to 7,417 positive cases, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said five of the 172 new cases were imported ones while 167 were local transmissions.

“(Of the local transmissions) 159 cases are foreigners, including 112 cases detected at three Immigration Detention Depots (DTI), and only eight are Malaysians,” he said at a daily media briefing here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said no fatalities were reported today, keeping the death toll at 115, or 1.61% of the total number of positive cases.

He said another 34 patients had recovered and were discharged today, raising the cumulative figure for recoveries to 5,979, or 80.6% of the total number of positive cases.

Eight cases were still being treated in the intensive care unit, with four requiring ventilator support, he added.

Separately, Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said a total of 207 of the 13,929 illegal immigrants detained at three DTIs on Peninsular Malaysia have been found to be positive for Covid-19 infection.

He said 110 of those infected have been sent to the Covid-19 quarantine and treament centre at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) for treatment.

“The rest of the infected immigrants are still in three DTIs in Bukit Jalil, KLIA, and Semenyih.”

At the same time, he said 238 immigration officers stationed at the three detention centres were ordered to be quarantined for 14 days and their duties taken over by other officers.

Khairul Dzaimee said to date, there are 14,496 illegal immigrants at the detention centres including in Sarawak.

From now on, the Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre at MAEPS will only receive illegal immigrants who are tested positive, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said locals would no longer be placed there and those who had been in quarantine at the centre have been transferred to the Sungai Buloh Hospital since yesterday.

Addressing the daily press conference on the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) today, Ismail Sabri said he had personally visited the centre this morning and found security forces have begun installing barbed wire fencing around the area, and increased their presence there.

He explained this has to be done because there were possibilities the illegal immigrants would escape as their travel documents were incomplete.

“Today is the last day for the locals (to be at MAEPS) as we don’t want them to be together with the immigrants. As only the immigrants will be there, it is necessary to have the fencing and other measures in place.

“With Malaysians it is so much easier as we will be able to locate them through their IC (identity card), home address and family members. However, we have no records of the illegal immigrants, where they live and who their relatives are.”

MAEPS, the largest agro park in Asia had been transformed into a quarantine and treatment centre for Covid-19 low-risk cases and is able to accommodate 600 beds.

Ismail Sabri said thorough screenings had been and would continue to be conducted on all detainees, officers and people involved, including the food suppliers.

“Those tested negative will stay (in the depot) and we will soon do a followup screening on them, while the positive cases will be sent directly to MAEPS.”

– Bernama