Malaysia vaccination centre shuts after 200 workers test positive for Covid

A vaccination centre in Malaysia was shut down on Tuesday after more than 200 medical staff and volunteers tested positive for coronavirus.

People who had been vaccinated at the centre from Friday onwards have been asked to self-isolate for 10 days in case they develop symptoms.

All 453 workers at the centre were tested after two volunteers contracted the virus.

The 204 people who tested positive had low viral loads, meaning the amount of virus in their bodies was small, science minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

The centre was shut for deep sanitisation and all its workers were being isolated.

The centre will reopen on Wednesday with a new team of medical workers.

Despite a strict lockdown since June 1, the pandemic had worsened in Malaysia, with total confirmed cases exceeding 844,000 with more than 6,200 deaths.

But vaccination has picked up pace, with nearly 11% of the population inoculated.

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