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Ismail Sabri Yacob’s office did not disclose how long the prime minister will be in isolation.
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yacob was quarantined after being in close contact with a COVID-19 patient.
His office said in a statement on Monday that it is not yet clear how long he will be in quarantine and it has not indicated any coronavirus test results.
It said Ismail Sabri started self-isolation and will participate in the official National Day celebration on Tuesday in a virtual way, and pointed out that he missed the swearing-in ceremony of the new government on Monday.
Ismail Sabri was sworn in as prime minister earlier this month, replacing Muhyiddin Yassin, who resigned after failing to maintain a small majority in Parliament.
He took responsibility when the public was outraged by the way the pandemic was handled. After the economy was hit by a prolonged lockdown, the number of COVID-19 cases recently surged to record highs and downgraded growth forecasts.
A total of 31 ministers and 38 deputy ministers were sworn in at the palace on Monday. Ismail Sabri did not appoint a deputy, but retained the four senior ministerial positions established by Muhyiddin to keep the factions in his Malay majority government happy.
Many people expressed appreciation for the appointment of Khairy Jamaluddin, the former Minister of Science in charge of the vaccination program, as the new Minister of Health.
This Southeast Asian country has successfully vaccinated most of its adult population, of which 62% of adults have been fully vaccinated.
However, according to The Straits Times, so far, less than 50% of residents in at least six of the 13 states in Malaysia have been vaccinated.
It quoted Ismail Sabri as saying that these states will fully vaccinate 50% of their adult population by the end of September at the latest.
Since August 5, the daily number of COVID-19 cases has soared to more than 20,000.
According to data released by Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Malaysia has so far reported approximately 1.7 million coronavirus infections and more than 16,000 deaths.
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