PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to track down the refugees and asylum seekers who attended the tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling Mosque last month.
To trace the tabligh participants, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said, UNHCR would also cooperate with IMARET (Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia Response and Relief Team), Malaysian Relief Agency and Mercy Malaysia, as a non-governmental organisation partner at the Health District office level.
"The joint-team will channel information on Covid-19 to refugees and asylum seekers.
"They will also explain the importance of seeking immediate treatment if they have Covid-19 infection symptoms, even if they did not attend the gathering.
"This is taking into consideration the fact they live in a small community and are always in close interaction with each other," he told a Press conference here today.
It was reported the authorities were looking for some 4,000 participants of the tabligh held at Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling, of which a large number were from the Rohingya community.
Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry was still investigating the clusters for the other patients, apart from those attending the tabligh in Sri Petaling last month.
"We are still investigating the other clusters. We need more time.
"For example, a health ministry staff who went to a wedding, which was also attended by a tabligh participant, may get infected through the contact.
"Some of the cases were close contacts to the first and second generations of patients," he said.