KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) — Following is the chronology of the spread of COVID-19 in Malaysia.
Jan 23, 2020:
– The Ministry of Health (MOH) through the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) receives three reports (two in Sabah and one Selangor) suspected to be infected with 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
– MOH confirms cases in Sabah were 2019-nCoV negative.
Jan 24, 2020:
MOH informed that eight close contacts linked to the first 2019-nCoV case in Singapore are in Johor Bahru and are quarantined.
Jan 25, 2020:
– Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad confirms the first 2019-nCoV case involves three Chinese citizens who had entered Malaysia via Johor from Singapore on Jan 23.
– MOH advises not to travel to China if there is no necessity.
Jan 26, 2020:
– MOH plans to have thermal scanners at country entry points.
Jan 27, 2020:
– MOH identifies 26 hospitals nationwide as a preparatory measure to handle cases of suspected 2019-nCoV infections that require further examination and treatment.
– The government decides to temporarily suspend all immigration facilities to Chinese citizens coming from Wuhan city and Hubei province with immediate effect.
Jan 28, 2020:
– Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri´ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah instructs mosques nationwide to perform hajat prayer.
– The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) establishes the Tourism Recovery Committee to monitor 2019-nCoV current developments.
Jan 29, 2020:
– MOH confirms an additional three 2019-nCoV positive cases, bringing the cumulative total to seven positive cases.
– Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir says Malaysia preparing to bring back citizens from Wuhan, China
Jan 30, 2020:
– MOH confirms another positive case among close contacts (eighth case), the cumulative total increased to eight cases.
– A special humanitarian mission to bring Malaysians back from Hubei province is activated following the coronavirus outbreak in the region
– The committee is coordinated by the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Malaysian Armed Forces and the National Security Council.
– The Sabah state government decides to temporarily suspend all scheduled and chartered flights from China to Sabah with immediate effect until further notice.
Jan 31, 2020:
-World Health Organisation (WHO) declares the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency.
Feb 1, 2020:
– All Chinese and foreigners who visited China within the last 14 days are barred from entering Sarawak with immediate effect until notified.
– The Malaysian embassy in Beijing sends a team to Wuhan to coordinate and assist in the process of bringing back 120 Malaysians in Hubei province following the outbreak in the country.
Feb 4, 2020:
– Malaysia brings home 107 individuals comprising Malaysians and their families stranded in Wuhan city, which has been locked down by the Chinese government since Jan 23, following the outbreak since Jan 23.
– A 41-year-old Malaysian citizen from Selangor is among two newly reported cases and another involving a 63-year-old Chinese national who arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Jan 18.
– With the addition of two new positive cases, the number of cases increases to 10.
– The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) restructures the Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VM2020) campaign by targeting new markets following the infection.
Feb 5, 2020:
– A total of 74 people identified through contact tracing following the first Malaysian case of COVID-19, out of which 35 close contacts are traced and samples were taken from them and placed under monitoring and surveillance order.
– Two out of 107 individuals, who returned to Malaysia through the Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission are confirmed COVID-19 positive, bringing the cumulative number of positive cases in Malaysia to 12.
Feb 6, 2020:
– A Malaysian woman, the first local infection, and a Chinese woman from Wuhan are the two latest confirmed cases, bringing the number of cases to 14, including 10 Chinese nationals and four locals.
Feb 7, 2020:
– Another positive case has been identified, bringing the number of positive cases in the country to 15, the latest case involving a 59-year-old female tourist from Wuhan, China, who entered Malaysia on Jan 21.
Feb 8, 2020:
– A Chinese woman from Wuhan confirmed to be positive, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 16 cases.
Feb 9, 2020:
– A 65-year-old local woman has become the latest positive case bringing the total number of infections in the country to 17. The woman is the mother-in-law of the Malaysian case reported on Feb 4, 2020, the ninth case.
Feb 10, 2020:
– Malaysia records 18 positive cases including three fully recovered cases so far. The latest case involves a 31-year-old local man working in Macau who returned to Malaysia on Feb 1.
Feb 11, 2020:
– Malaysia and Singapore agree to the formation of a Joint Committee following the spread of the novel coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCov). It is headed by the deputy health ministers from both countries.
Feb 12, 2020:
– The Health Ministry receives 26 thermal scanners to be placed at all entrances into the country, taking the tally of scanners to 80.
– The World Health Organisation (WHO) announces that COVID-19, which means Corona Virus Disease, is the official name for the 2019 novel coronavirus.
– Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad says that of the 550 close contacts and those with symptoms in the 18 public laboratories who were tested, only 18 are confirmed positive so far.
Feb 13, 2020:
– Another positive case is confirmed, taking the tally to 19. The latest case involves a 39-year-old woman from China, who happens to be a friend of patient No 14 and the daughter of patient No 16.
Feb 14, 2020:
– Three positive cases are confirmed, making it 22 in total so far. The new cases involve a man and a woman from China as well as an 83-year-old American woman, who was a passenger on a cruise ship which docked in Cambodia on Feb 13.
Feb 27, 2020:
– Interim Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad announces the 2020 Economic Stimulus Package in a bid to boost the economy following the effects of the virus outbreak.
Feb 28, 2020:
– Three more cases are confirmed, taking the tally to 25 while 22 are cured and discharged.
– Patient No 23 is a Malaysian returning from Japan, patient No 24 is a 41-year-old Japanese woman working in Malaysia while case No 25 is an Italian man, 54, who is married to a Malaysian and lives here.
March 1, 2020:
– The ministry confirms four more positive cases to take the total to 29 so far.
– Case No 26 is a 52-year-old man who had traveled to Shanghai, China in mid-January; case no 27 is a 20-year-old female trainee nurse who underwent a short-term internship at a private hospital which treated case No 24; case No 28 is a 45-year-old man who happens to be a colleague of patient No 25, and case No 29 is a 35-year-old woman who was warded in a private hospital on Feb 21.
March 3, 2020:
– The ministry confirms seven more cases involving Malaysians and the total reaches 36. All new cases happened to be in close contact with patient No 26 on Feb 29.
March 4, 2020:
– Fourteen new cases are reported and Malaysia’s tally rises to 50. Cases No 31 to No 50 were are all in close contact with Case No 26.
March 5, 2020:
– Five individuals are confirmed positive and all are identified to have been in close contact with patient No 26, bringing a total number of cases to 55.
March 6, 2020:
– A total of 28 more individuals test positive for COVID-19, bringing the nationwide tally to 83 cases
March 7, 2020:
– 10 more COVID-19 cases are reported, making it 93 cases in total in the country.
March 8, 2020:
– Six more cases are reported, bringing the tally up further to 99 cases. All the new cases are linked to the close contacts of the 26th case cluster.
March 9, 2020:
– A total of 18 COVID-19 cases are reported, breaching the 100 case mark for the first time for a total of 117 cases. One of the new cases, Case 101, is linked to a man who just returned from Iran.
March 10, 2020:
– A total of 12 new cases are reported, bringing the tally further up to 129 cases. All the positive cases are from the patient-under-investigation (PUI) group, close contacts, and the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission.
March 11, 2020:
– A total of 20 positive COVID-19 are reported with the cumulative cases now rising sharply to 149.
March 12, 2020:
– Nine positive cases are reported taking the tally up to 158.
– MOH takes notice of the World Health Organisation’s statement that the COVID-19 situation has affected 114 countries and is now declared a pandemic after taking into account that cases outside China have spiked drastically.
– Malaysia is yet to report a COVID-19 sporadic case. The 131st case earlier reported as sporadic is found not to be one after further investigation by the MOH finds that the patient was one of the Tabligh religious gatherings at the Sri Petaling mosque from Feb 27-March 1.
March 13, 2020:
– Another 39 COVID-19 cases are reported, with cumulative cases now in the country at 197 cases. Of these, 38 cases are from the patient-under-investigation (PUI) group and one case from the close contact group, while four more cases are reported as requiring respiratory aid and treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and given anti-viral treatment.
March 14, 2020:
– A total of 41 new COVID-19 cases are reported, taking the tally up to 238 cases. All the new cases are linked to the tabligh religious gathering cluster, comprising 37 PUI cases and four more from close contacts.
March 15, 2020:
– A staggering 190 positive COVID-19 cases are reported, with the tally now at 428 cases. Preliminary investigations show that the majority of the cases are linked to the Sri Petaling mosque tabligh religious gathering cluster.
March 16, 2020:
– A total of 125 positive COVID-19 cases are reported, with the nationwide tally now up to 553 cases. 95 of these 125 new cases are linked to the Sri Petaling mosque tabligh religious gathering cluster.
– Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announces a 14-day Movement Control Order from March 18 to March 31.
Sources: BERNAMA
