Health DG: Close contacts of Covid-19 cases must quarantine even if tested negative

PETALING JAYA (Oct 16): It is a must for close contacts of positive Covid-19 cases to be quarantined for 14 days even if they tested negative on the first day, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today.

He explained that this was because up to a quarter of close contact cases were found to be positive during their second test on the 13th day quarantine, FMT reported.

He added that the virus’ infection was at its highest during the first 10 days of exposure, and that the Health Ministry implemented the 14-day quarantine period “as a precautionary measure”.

“We found that 70% of them (close contacts) tested positive on the first day they were quarantined, while 25% tested positive on the 13th day.

“Even after testing negative for the first test, there is a possibility to test positive for the second test on the 13th day.

“So it is mandatory for those who have been issued a home surveillance order or identified as a close contact to quarantine for 14 days,” explained Dr Noor Hisham, in the FMT report.

He added that 70% to 80% of the Covid-19 cases in Sabah “were stage 1 and stage 2, which meant they were either asymptomatic or showed light symptoms”.

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