The red alert was raised when two footballers, a coach and two staff members of the National Sports Council (NSC) were stricken with dengue and admitted to hospital yesterday.

Youth and Sports Ministry secretary-general Lokman Hakim Ali said the athletes would carry on training as usual except for minor changes in their schedules.

“The athletes with activities outdoors will be making a small change to their training schedules.

“They will not be training during the hours of 5am to 7am and 6pm to 8pm when the Aedes mosquito is active,” he told reporters at the Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex.

The NSC has also set up a special committee to monitor the number of dengue cases in and around Bukit Jalil.

The committee is the joint effort of government agencies and the private sector to curb the spread of dengue.

Lokman said eight athletes and nine NSC staff members were infected with dengue this month.

“Of the five people who were admitted yesterday, three have returned home while two are still receiving treatment at Serdang Hospital.”

Lokman said the health ministry had also opened a 24-hour clinic at the National Sports Institute for athletes and coaches so that dengue could be detected early for fast and efficient treatment.

“The clinic is equipped with the Rapid Test Combo to detect if a person is infected with dengue in 15 minutes.”

Lokman said the dengue outbreak would also not affect preparations, including the construction at the national stadium, and other facilities for the SEA Games in August.

“The health ministry and City Hall will be conducting regular checks at construction sites to ensure there are no mosquito breeding grounds.”