"But I'm Negative" – Man Who Lives With COVID-19 Positive Family Turns Up At PPV

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In an Instagram post, Aina Liza Tan Mutalib related about how scary it was knowing that someone, in their ignorance, could put others at risk so easily.

At the Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam on 4 July, Aina said she was waiting for her jab at the vaccination centre's waiting room when she overheard a man — who sat in a seat 1m away from her — tell a volunteer that his family is COVID-19 positive.

Surprised, the volunteer clarified, "Eh, your whole family is positive? Where are they?"

"At home," the man replied.

"Abang, then where did you come from? Are you staying under the same roof as your COVID-19 family?"

"Ya, I'm staying with them lah."

However, she could still hear the volunteer questioning the man. The volunteer asked, "How in the world are you here? Abang, you're a close contact, right? You can't be here."

To which, the man replied, "But I'm negative. The doctor said I'm negative. That means I can leave the house."

After telling the man he was wrong, the volunteer asked him to stay put and ran to find a superior. Aina said he came back with four officers who explained to the man why he should not have come for his vaccine appointment.

"Sir, if your whole family in one house is COVID-19 positive and you're a close contact, you should not be coming out, walking about, and meeting people. You should not even be here," one of the officers said.

"But I'm okay. I'm negative. The doctor confirmed I'm negative and I don't have a fever either," the man said.

She said the officers explained to the man that he could be asymptomatic and may still infect others, then they apologised and said he will not be allowed to take his vaccine that day.

The man, confused, last retorted that he was not wearing a pink wristband and insisted on getting the vaccine to protect himself.

Aina told SAYS that in those few minutes of waiting, she felt afraid and angry knowing that the man could still be a carrier of the virus even after testing negative, as he was living in a house full of active cases.

However, the 52-year-old said her story is to create awareness and not to point fingers.

"He was just ignorant. He was not aggressive. I think he wanted to feel safe against his family. I believe he didn't realise that by being outside he could infect others," she told SAYS.

Nevertheless, she said it was still a scary experience: "If your whole house is COVID-19 positive, please don't leave your home and make it difficult for others. Please think long and hard, and be considerate!"

"Also wear double masks and face shield because now the virus is airborne and aerosol-like. With the new variant, it's very easy to contract this COVID-19 virus nowadays," she said, adding that, most effectively, is to treat everyone as if they are positive with COVID-19 to stay guarded and cautious.

"What I can derive is that our system is broken. There is no sure way of telling if a person is under quarantine," she added, commenting that it is not obvious on MySejahtera that a person is high-risk unless they update the app themselves.

Setia City Convention Centre confirmed with SAYS that the incident occurred and the entire hall was immediately sanitised. They also did a swab test for staff who came in close contact with the man that day.