COVID-19: Temporary closure of facilities visited by hammer thrower
KUALA LUMPUR: All athletes, coaches and officials who came into close contact with national hammer thrower Jackie Wong Siew Cheer, who tested positive for COVID-19, will be quarantined for 14 days in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said that an athlete quarantine centre will be set up at the National Sports Council (NSC) hostel (Casa 1).
He said that for now there will be no lockdown at NSC, although certain NSC and National Sports Institute (NSI) facilities visited by Jackie have been closed to facilitate disinfection and sanitisation works.
“Jackie is believed to have been infected by his father (Sarikei Member of Parliament Andrew Wong Ling Biu). But we can’t confirm whether he was infected when his father came to visit him in Kuala Lumpur on March 1 or when he visited his dad in Sarikei on March 11,” he said when contacted by Bernama today, adding that Jackie was tested on March 14.
Earlier, Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) president Datuk S.M Muthu confirmed that Jackie is first national athlete to have tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Reezal Merican confirmed that a special committee, headed by NSI medical division director Dr Kamarul Hashimy Hussein, has been set up to cooperate with the Health Ministry and Health Office to obtain regular information.
“After this, any information on COVID-19 will be announced by NSC director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail,” he said.
He also stressed that athletes must cancel or postpone any tournaments, trainings or overseas trips until April 30, especially to COVID-19 high-risk countries.
Jackie, 28, who holds the national hammer throw record with a distance of 68.22 metres, was a three-time SEA Games bronze medalist between 2011 and 2015 before finally clinching the gold in the 2017 edition on home soil. However, he had to settle for the silver in the Philippines SEA Games last year.
— BERNAMA
