KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 1,355 detainees at immigration depots have tested positive for Covid-19 since May, Deputy Home Minister Ismail Mohamed Said told the Dewan Rakyat.
He said the highest number of infections – 650 – was recorded at the Bukit Jalil detention centre, followed by Langkap immigration depot with 481.
Dr Lee Boon Chye (PH-Gopeng) had asked the ministry to state the number of Covid-19 patients from immigration depots and prisons.
Ismail said 127 individuals at the Semenyih immigration centre and another 77 at KLIA tested positive for the virus
The remaining 20 cases were recorded at other depots in Belantik, Putrajaya, Machap Umboo, Lenggeng and Juru.
He also said that according to Prisons Department statistics, 60,583 detainees had undergone Covid-19 test swabs since August.
Opposition MPs had in the past called for prison reforms, noting that the third wave of the pandemic in Malaysia started at detention centres. – FMT