PUTRAJAYA, April 22 — Strategic and scheduled planning will be crucial in releasing students from local campuses to return to their hometowns, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said that as of now, there had been no cluster of Covid-19 detected among the students who had stayed on their campuses for four weeks during the movement control order (MCO).
“We can screen them and they can go back to their homes but, more importantly, we should not repeat the mistake of (allowing a) home rush.
“At least, strategically plan how they can go back to their hometowns. I think we are doing that together with the National Security Council (NSC),” he said in the daily Covid-19 press conference here yesterday.
Previously, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said the government might allow students stranded in campuses to return home, after following strict standard operating procedures (SOP).
Meanwhile, commenting on the five reinfection cases in Sabah, Dr Noor Hisham said patients who had recovered and discharged faced two possibilities.
He said one was reinfection and the other was the Covid-19 test showing a weak positive reading.
“Now there are five cases whose tests may be positive but with a weak reading, whereby virus-shedding is occurring.
“…that’s the process of the virus shedding from the residual virus present. When virus-shedding happens, it’s not infectious but may be positive,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham explained that those who had recovered from Covid-19 infection were supposed to have antibodies, but so far no research paper data showed that it could prevent anyone from being infected again.
He said that previously there was a case of a person who had recovered and allowed to return to Brunei, but was later confirmed positive.
He explained that after reviewing it with the Brunei Health Ministry and Institute for Medical Research (IMR), it was found the Covid-19 virus showed a weak positive reading.
— Bernama
