Abdul Karim speaking at the press conference. – Photo from UKAS
KUCHING: Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has urged the public not to find fault or make accusations about the source of the Covid-19 cluster which has claimed the lives of several members of a family here.
Reacting to claims on social media, he told a press conference today that there have been various accusations about the virus that was imported from Italy.
“As for the Kampung Patingan cases, the disease does not choose race or religion. What has happened is not something anybody wants. Nobody wants to be infected with this virus.
“Therefore, do not point fingers and create unnecessary feelings. Anybody who knows they have that virus will not go to work. Just like Dr Jerip (Susil), if he knew he had the virus, he would not have gone to the meeting,” he said.
Dr Jerip, who is the Assistant Transport Minister, confirmed last Friday that he has tested positive for the virus. Several people who had come into contact with him during a meeting last week prior to him testing positive have been ordered to undergo self-quarantine as a precaution.
Abdul Karim hoped that Sarawakians would not make accusations about the source of the virus, adding that people who might have transmitted the virus would also feel distressed.
On Sunday, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had commented that the cluster from an imported case from Italy now has third generation infections.
“From that cluster, about 37 people tested Covid-19 positive and there were five related deaths and one critical case in the intensive care unit. This cluster has infections up to the third generation, ” he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (April 5).