12 Bangladeshis among foreigners infected with coronavirus in Malaysia

Twelve Bangladeshi migrants have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus infection in Malaysia, The Star, a Kuala Lumpur-based newspaper, reports.

As many as 416 foreigners in the country have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, making up about one-tenth of those diagnosed with virus, according to Malaysia’s health ministry.

The positive Covid-19 cases also included nationals from Indonesia (51 cases), India (37 cases), Myanmar (31 cases), Pakistan (29 cases), the Philippines (27 cases), China (25), Bangladesh (12) and others, the report added

"The ministry is working closely with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are covered in the prevention activities that are carried out by the government," said its Director-General Datuk Noor Hisham Abdullah at a press conference on Thursday.

Hisham added that the respective foreign missions had been informed of the status of their nationals.

He also said that the ministry has received assistance from many non-governmental organisations and volunteers for on-site field tracking detection, together with health officers from the District Health Office.

There were 109 new positive cases in Malaysia on Apr 9, bringing the total of infected in the country to 4,228 cases, according to The Star.