An elderly woman who had tested positive for Covid was found dead on Aug 6 (Friday) in a house in Lorong Serkam, Jalan Bakri, in Johor.
Authorities said that an alert was issued at 10:46 am that day, which officials from Muar Fire and Rescue Department responded to.
Senior Fire Officer II Noralfatah Omar, the department’s operations commander, is quoted by Bernama on Aug 6 as saying, “Upon arrival, firefighters found that a woman was locked in a house. It took them five minutes to open the closed door.”
“However, the victim, 80-year-old Tan Ah Csee, was found dead and the Ministry of Health confirmed that she was positive for Covid-19.”
Mdm Tan had been quarantining on her own after contracting the infection.
The neighbours of the elderly woman grew alarmed that something could be amiss after she did not respond when they called out to her.
Because they were aware that she had tested positive for Covid-19, they were hesitant to enter her home, Mr Omar said in a statement.
The Muar Fire and Rescue Department deployed 14 fire and rescue personnel to check on Mdm Tan, who arrived in full protective gear soon after the call for help was made.
The team used tools to break the lock open and found that Mdm Tan had passed away.
Mdm Tan’s remains have since been turned over to the police for the measures that need to be taken.
Malaysian news sources say that she transferred to Jalan Bakri nearly three decades ago and was living by herself in a home in Lorong Serkam that she had rented.
Johor state assemblyman Gwee Tong Hiang had been in contact with Mdm Tan just last month, and told Malaysian media that she had moved to Muar in 1994.
She even showed Mr Gwee her Singaporean passport, which had expired many years ago.
On the occasion that they met, the state assemblyman pledged to help Mdm Tan by sending her some food supplies. /TISG
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