Sin Chew Daily

Before new prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has ever set up his new cabinet, there have been rumors the coronavirus is already hitting the inner circle of Malaysian politics.

The immediate actions taken by the health ministry include heightened alert, coronavirus tests for a former minister and deputy minister said to have come into contact with the country's 26th confirmed case.

The 26th case is a 52-year-old senior management personnel at Khazanah Nasional who began to develop symptoms of fever and sore throat on February 27. He visited a private hospital on the same day and tested positive two days later. He is currently undergoing treatment at Sungai Buloh Hospital.

Just as the authorities were trying to track the source of the virus, it was discovered that the 26th case had come into close contact with a former minister and deputy minister at an event during the previous one week. PKR's MP for Subang Wong Chen, who admitted to have met the minister and deputy minister, said he would go on self quarantine for two days until the test results of the minister and deputy minster were released.

After the news came into public knowledge, there have been a spate of rumors virally circulating on the social media. People started to stretch their concerns and imagination for fear the virus could have spread to other important government people through MPs who have met the 26th case.

In the meantime, the health ministry has initiated very stringent tracking procedures to stop the virus from spreading in the community.

The country's healthcare team under health director-general Datuk Noor Hisham Abdullah continues to perform its duty with full devotion and professionalism, erecting a powerful public health defense against viral invasion.

Just as infections have somewhat slowed in Mainland China, they have picked up steam across much of the world beyond. Other than steadfastly fending off the viral infections within this country, the health ministry must also make timely adjustments to existing travel bans imposed on foreign visitors,

Prior to this, Malaysia has imposed travel bans on visitors from 23 cities in three provinces of China as well as the city of Daegu in South Korea. It is now time to review the bans and advise Malaysians against visiting countries with more serious outbreaks such as Japan and Singapore as well.

Countries like South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran are among the most badly hit in recent weeks. It is imperative for the health authorities to obtain the most updated information on the distribution of coronavirus cases in these countries in order to decide whether to extend the travel bans to visitors from specific cities and provinces there. Meanwhile, the authorities should also keep a close watch on the developments elsewhere so as to effectively block the entry of the virus into Malaysian territory.