Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 via his Facebook account on Wednesday 9 February 2022.
As reported by Channel NewsAsia, Muhyiddin - who is reportedly experiencing mild symptoms - said he is in good condition and is self-isolating at home according to health ministry guidelines.
Muhyiddin, who currently serves as chairman of the Malaysian National Recovery Council (NRC), also appealed to people who may have close contact with him to comply with applicable health protocols.
News of Muhyiddin's infection came a day after he chaired an in-person NRC meeting with Cabinet ministers and other government officials. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was also present at the meeting.
Malaysia has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent days. New infections due to the Omicron variant hit the highest level in four months on Saturday and continue to rise.
Malaysia's Health Ministry said Monday that the recent spike in cases was unexpected, and most infections were asymptomatic or mild.
The Health Ministry reported 17,134 new Covid-19 cases today, much higher than the 13,944 cases reported yesterday.
The fresh infections today is the highest in 145 days, since Sept 17 last year.
This brings the cumulative infections to 2,956,332.
The Health Ministry will only publish today's breakdown of new cases by states after midnight on its CovidNow portal.
The breakdown by states for yesterday (Feb 8), where 13,944 new cases were reported, is as follows:
Selangor (3,031)
Sabah (2,069)
Johor (1,680)
Kedah (1,463)
Kelantan (1,105)
Penang (1,023)
Kuala Lumpur (1,022)
Pahang (696)
Negeri Sembilan (394)
Malacca (387)
Perak (352)
Terengganu (290)
Putrajaya (141)
Perlis (133)
Sarawak (129)
Labuan (29)
The 141 cases in Putrajaya yesterday is a record-high for the federal territory.