DG warns of superspreader in Parliament, says bipartisan meet agreed to postpone
Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has cautioned that a superspreader event is possible if the special parliamentary sitting proceeds, stating that some who tested positive for Covid-19 in Parliament last week were found to be highly infectious.
He added that prior to the sitting, the Health Ministry had already proposed for the sitting to either be postponed until the vaccination rate in the Klang Valley hit 40 percent.
The second option, Noor Hisham (above) said, was for Parliament to proceed with precautions (reduced capacity and length) but should immediately be suspended if Covid-19 cases were found.
He said a bipartisan meeting comprising representatives from government and opposition had on July 26 agreed to the second option.
Noor Hisham said although only 11 out of 1,183 people at Parliament have been found positive for Covid-19, the Health Ministry assessed there was a high risk of further spread.
"Even though the total Covid-19 cases detected during the Parliament sitting amounted to only 0.8 percent, a risk assessment considering the epidemiology and environmental factors concluded that Parliament is a high-risk gathering that could lead to the spread of Covid-19," he said in a statement today.
"There were six symptomatic cases with high infectivity rate which have the risk of spreading the disease with the potential of becoming superspreaders," he added.
Noor Hisham said many in Parliament are also senior citizens with comorbidities who are more at risk.
"Not everyone in Parliament has fully completed their Covid-19 vaccination," he said.
Furthermore, Noor Hisham said the indoor environment of Parliament could see the SARS-CoV-2 virus become airborne and linger in the building for hours.
This was on top of people using shared facilities, regular small gatherings outside the House and the limited social distancing in the House, he added.
"Considering the risk assessment and to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the Health Ministry proposed all meetings, including those by the Selection Committee, parliamentary select committee, Parliament sitting or any meetings involving people who were at Parliament between July 26 and July 29 to be postponed for two weeks starting July 29," he said.
He said all individuals who were at Parliament between July 26 and 29 are advised to update their health status on the MySejahtera application and to undergo a test if they exhibit symptoms.
Super spreader, Delta Variant, 1200 times virus content.......ha ha ha Obedient Civil Servant trying his very best to get TUN-ship....but I suspek Agong regret giving him even Tan Sri.....
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Delta variant likely in four Parliament cases, says health DG
FMT Reporters -August 1, 2021
PETALING JAYA: Four cases of Covid-19 infections at Parliament House are most likely from the Delta variant, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
He said the Institute for Medical Research had carried out tests on four samples from a screening carried out at Parliament House last week.
“All four samples showed mutations in protein spikes that were identified as Delta variants or Kappa variants. However, based on the variant of concern that is spreading in the community, it is most likely a Delta variant,” he said in a Facebook posting.
He said whole genomic sequencing will be carried out for further verification.
The Delta variant is reported to have a virus content 1,200 times higher than the normal Covid-19 virus.
Earlier today Noor Hisham had suggested that all parliamentary meetings be suspended for two weeks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infections in the building. Nine Covid-19 positive cases have been reported, of which five had very high infection rates.
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Noor Hisham the shame of all Malaysians.
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Where’s the evidence, asks Kit Siang over possible Delta variant in Parliament
FMT Reporters -August 2, 2021
PETALING JAYA: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has taken health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to task for saying that four cases of Covid-19 infections at Parliament House are most likely from the Delta variant.
Describing Noor Hisham’s statement as “most unfortunate”, Lim asked him whether he had the evidence, or was it just to “frighten the MPs?”.
Yesterday, Noor Hisham said the health ministry had recommended that all parliamentary sittings be suspended for two weeks, citing high infectivity rates after a Covid-19 outbreak was detected in Parliament on Thursday.
Lim said Noor Hisham should prove that his statement was based on medical facts.
“There were 11 cases out of 1,183 (Parliament) staff. If all 1,183 were tested, then the positivity rate is about 1%, which is nowhere near superspreader status.
“The other justification for superspreader possibility is a new variant? Were genomic studies done? If so, what are the results?” the Iskandar Puteri MP asked in a statement today.
Lim said “the Parliament proceeding of fully vaccinated MPs” should continue.
“The prime minister is fully vaccinated. Why is he not coming to Parliament to answer all the questions the country is asking?” he asked.
Earlier, in a separate statement, Lim said the July Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking, which placed Malaysia in the 52nd spot out of 53 countries with economies of more than US$200 billion, was the “final nail in the coffin” over the failure of the emergency and the government’s strategy in the war against the pandemic
He noted that Malaysia had been ranked 16th in January.
“We have fallen from 16th to 52nd, the next lowest, in the Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking. Although Indonesia is ranked 53rd and last, we have four times higher daily cases per million population than Indonesia,” he said.
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Noor Hisham TIPU...
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Loke: Health DG statement misleading, opposition didn't agree to suspend House
2 Aug 2021
Seremban MP Anthony Loke has disputed Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah's claim that government and opposition representatives agreed for Parliament to be suspended if Covid-19 cases were found during the special sitting which started on July 26.
"I take that Noor Hisham's statement claiming the opposition agreed with the postponement of Parliament to be confusing the public," Loke said in a statement.
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