Malaysian PM to observe 14-day quarantine after chairing meeting involving official tested COVID-19 positive

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will observe a 14-day home quarantine after an official who attended a recent meeting he chaired tested positive for COVID-19, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Friday.

"The prime minister has chaired a post cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday, May 20, 2020," the statement said, "One official present at the meeting has been tested COVID-19 positive."

"The prime minister has undergone COVID-19 screening and was found to be negative," the statement said, adding that Muhyiddin will still have to observe a 14-day home quarantine starting Friday.

All other officials who attended the meeting are instructed to be tested and to observe home quarantine for a period of 14 days, it said.

In March, Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and his wife underwent a 14-day quarantine after several palace employees were infected with COVID-19.

Malaysia reported 78 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing the national total to 7,137, according to the Health Ministry.