Yesterday (March 25) was another sad day for Malaysia. Our hearts are broken as we learned that there has been a sudden surge in Covid-19 positive cases among the healthcare staff.

The Health Director-General Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah has confirmed that 73 health workers have tested positive for Covid-19. Among them, more than half  went to weddings that were also attended by tabligh participants. While the other infected medical personnel are said to have had traveled overseas or having contact with infected family members.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that none of the 73 health workers contracted the virus while treating patients.

During a press conference yesterday, Dr. Noor Hisham urged medical staff as well as frontliners who have had close contact with attendees of the gathering in Sri Petaling, a wedding in Bangi on March 6 or a wedding in Putrajaya on March 7 to notify their respective heads of department.

According to Malaysiakini, health workers in 5 hospitals have been infected due to the wedding incident, with the Teluk Intan Hospital as the most badly affected. 37 of its workers are among the 73 tested positive for Covid-19, Orientaldaily reported. The emergency department and observation ward of the hospital are now temporarily closed for cleaning and disinfection works.

Dr. Noor Hisham said that the Health Ministry has to re-delegate medical staff from other facilities to cover the shortage of manpower at the affected hospitals. That includes the Putrajaya Hospital, the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital in Kota Bharu, the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang and the Selayang Hospital, apart from the Teluk Intan Hospital.

Let us pray that these health workers as well as other Covid-19 patients recover as soon as possible! As for the rest of us, we should continue to stay home and stay healthy.