Press Statement by YB Kelvin Yii:
I strongly encourage the member of the public to be vigilant and take all the necessary precautions to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV in our country including practicing good personal hygiene and also wearing a face mask in case you are unwell.
Those that are feeling unwell and have also traveled to China in the past few months are highly advised to seek the proper treatment in Sarawak General Hospital, which is a specially designated hospital for further treatment in such cases.
While we remain vigilant, it is also important that the public does not spread unnecessary panic through unverified news in social media on the virus. For the past few days, the amount of fake news on the virus including here in Sarawak is really critical as it also hinders the work of our healthcare professionals in dealing with the issue.
I understand the concerns of the Rakyat, who wants to protect themselves and their families from CoV. The best way is to remain calm, to trust official resources of information, and to practice, the precautions advised by the Health Ministry. Otherwise, healthcare professionals have to waste precious resources fighting fake news taking them away from the important job to curb the spread of the virus.
The Ministry of Health is committed to do the necessary to curb this virus and prevent its spread even here in Sarawak. All suspected cases are being dealt with and the test is being done to verify whether it is positive for the Wuhan virus. I was informed that the results for the suspected case in Bintulu will be announced shortly.
Those that are concerned about the shortage of masks, I was informed that the suppliers are sourcing from different areas as much as they can to fulfill the need. But we can also learn who and when there is a need to wear a mask and for those who may not have to, so there wouldn’t be any unnecessary panic even if they are not enough masks for everybody.
Malaysia has strong and proven capabilities to handle outbreaks and these capabilities are acknowledged by WHO. We are ranked #18 in the world in the Global Health Security Index is one of the tops in Asia, higher than Singapore and South Korea.
Malaysian Health professionals successfully protected Malaysia from Nipah Virus in 1998, SARS in 2003, H1N1 in 2009 and MERS in 2014. In non-outbreak periods, they work daily to reduce dengue, tuberculosis, and HIV which also affect our general public. That is why I believe we should trust and support our healthcare professionals and support their effort to contain the novel coronavirus in Malaysia.
Let us protect ourselves, our family and our country together.
