KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — A total of 85 COVID-19 cases have been identified involving the recent special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
In a statement today, Dr Noor Hisham said the cases were the result of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests, with 56 cases identified from screening tests before the Dewan Rakyat sitting commenced, and another four cases of close contacts as well as 17 cases during the sitting. Another eight positive cases were detected during screening tests before the Dewan Negara sitting.
“To date, six samples that are most likely to be Delta variants have been detected through screening using the PCR Genotyping Assay test.
“To confirm this type of variant, the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) is conducting whole genomic sequencing and is still awaiting the final results,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said, of the eight new cases reported between July 30 and yesterday, five of them had a cycle threshold (CT) value of RT-PCR between 18.00 and 27.68, and three cases with a CT value between 35.14 and 37.59.
Apart from that, of the eight cases mentioned, four cases had mild symptoms and the rest were asymptomatic.
He said seven positive cases had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while another case involved a seven-year-old child (as a result of close contact) who was not yet eligible for the vaccine.
“The results of the Ministry of Health’s investigation thus far have found that it is very likely that the sharing of basic facilities such as toilets and surau by individuals has contributed to the spread of COVID-19 infection in Parliament,” he said.
Therefore, he advised individuals who have attended Parliament sitting to continuously monitor their health status using the MySejahtera application and seek immediate treatment and undergo a COVID-19 screening test if they have symptoms.
