GEORGE TOWN – The residents of Bayan Lepas are in shock over the death of a 67-year-old mosque caretaker who allegedly succumbed to Covid-19 last night at a private clinic here.
The deceased, who was familiar and friendly to mosque-goers, was suffering from fever before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, but did not realise that he was infected with the virus.
The manner of his sudden death has sent shockwaves through the community here.
The deceased went to the clinic in Bayan Lepas around 7pm last night, complaining of a fever before dying.
Southwest district police chief Michael A. Anbalagan said the deceased, who worked at Al-Hidayah Mosque in Bayan Lepas, died while undergoing treatment for fever at the clinic.
“Police are still waiting for the post-mortem report. The deceased was reported to have collapsed in the clinic before his last breath,” he said.
Anbalagan said the deceased was a bachelor who lived with his siblings. He had a fever since before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, without realising he was infected with the virus.
A front-line team from the Health Ministry in full gear rushed to the clinic to try and resuscitate him to no avail, and the body was sent to the Penang Hospital mortuary.
Following the incident, the mosque issued a statement that it would be closed from today until further notice.
The authorities also conducted sanitisation at the mosque premise.
The mosque management committee has advised those who were in close contact with the deceased to be screened for Covid-19 immediately. – The Vibes, May 23, 2021
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