H1NI, first alert in Sabah

In KOTA KINABALU, flu symptoms in an elderly Canadian tourist had sent Sabah health authorities into their first alert.

Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said the 71-year-old man however tested negative for the virus after being quarantined overnight at a designated isolation centre in Kepayan. He was released on Thursday.

“Our health authorities will remain vigilant for those who could be infected by the virus,” he said after chairing the State Security Council meeting Thursday.

Musa, who had earlier been briefed by Sabah Health Department director Dr Marzukhi Md Isa, said the man had arrived on May 5 and after a week became ill and suffered from fever and a sore throat.

Musa said the Canadian visited a private medical clinic at Luyang on May 12 and the doctor there immediately alerted Health Department officials who took the man to the quarantine centre.

The man’s blood sample was sent to Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday and he was released early Thursday after the test showed a negative result for the virus.