Sister also tested positive following first local person-to-person coronavirus case

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 6): Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the sister of the first known person-to-person transmission in the country also tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus today, Reuters reported today.

The 40-year-old Malaysian woman had direct contact with her 41-year-old Malaysian brother who tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus on Monday after returning from a meeting in Singapore last month.

The woman started showing symptoms on Feb 1 after they had met in their hometown for the Chinese New Year holidays on Jan 23.

Other members of their family have tested negative for the coronavirus, Dzulkefly said in a statement.

"We are calling this the first Malaysian-transmitted local case," Dzulkefly said.

The man had attended a company meeting at the Grand Hyatt in Singapore in mid-January. Two South Koreans who attended the meeting were also infected, sparking a World Health Organization investigation of the case.

Malaysian health authorities have said people from China including, one from the city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged in December, attended the Singapore meeting.

According to Reuters, Dzulkefly also confirmed another coronavirus case of a tourist from Wuhan, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 14.

Ten of them are Chinese nationals, while the rest are Malaysians — including two who were evacuated from Wuhan this week.

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