Berita Harian reported that the college had been closed since Jan 14 by the Melaka health department to stem the outbreak, with the index case involving a student.

State health exco Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said 176 close contacts have since been screened, of which 76 people tested positive.

He added that the outbreak was suspected to have been caused by one symptomatic case who attended classes and spread the virus to other classmates.

“Of the positive cases, 71 are male students while the others are female. Three more students are awaiting their final test results,” he said.

He also said there was a lack of compliance with SOPs in high-risk areas such as dormitories and that there was also a gatekeeping issue.

“While the matter is still being probed, we cannot dismiss the possibility that the students might have been infected due to SOP non-compliance at the college.”

He added that the health ministry had designated the outbreak as the Jalan Tun Telani cluster yesterday.

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