CORONAVIRUS | Police have denied that a tabligh doctor who underwent a Covid-19 test allegedly escaped from the Seberang Jaya Hospital (HSJ) isolation room yesterday, saying the man left to perform his prayers.

Penang police chief Sahabudin Abd Manan said they received a police report from a doctor on duty at the HSJ emergency ward that a 52-year-old man, a member of a tabligh congregation, had escaped from the isolation room at 8.20pm.

"The man, a doctor in a private clinic, had attended the Tabligh Ijtimak assembly at the Sri Petaling Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. He arrived at the hospital at 7pm to take the Covid-19 test.

"He had actually informed a doctor there that he wanted to perform the prayers, but another doctor thought the man had escaped from the isolation room and filed a police report. As it turned out he just left to pray... it was just a misunderstanding," he told reporters in George Town today.

Yesterday, social media reports about a man fleeing the HSJ isolation room went viral and people were urged to exercise caution as he was suspected of having contracted Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Seberang Perai Utara district police chief Noorzainy Mohd Noor also denied a posting on social media about six men, also members of a tabligh congregation, living in the Penang Golf Resort residential area, Bertam Kepala Batas refusing to undergo the Covid-19 test.

He said the viral message had claimed that the six men had joined the tabligh gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque, but police checks with the Health Ministry (MOH) found that they had actually attended the gathering in Kota Marudu, Sabah.

"All six men, aged 30 to 55, also underwent Covid-19 screening tests at Kota Marudu Hospital twice, on March 11 and March 17. Results found them to be negative but they obliged MOH’s orders by carrying out home quarantine for 14 days," he said.

He advised the public not to spread fake news that could disrupt public peace and order.

- Bernama