Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today clarified that the death of Health Ministry (MOH) frontliner Dr Ali Noor Hassan was neither due to Covid-19 nor work fatigue.
Dr Noor Hisham said Dr Ali died of other diseases but declined to elaborate.
“He died not because of Covid-19 infection or work fatigue,” he said in a short WhatsApp message to Bernama today.
The Skuad Pengurusan Jenazah Malaysia (SPJM), via its Facebook page Tuesday, said that Dr Ali had fallen sick due to work stress and fatigue, as he alledgely did not have enough rest while serving on the frontline battling the pandemic.
Meanwhile, in a statement on his Facebook page, Dr Noor Hisham urged people to respect Dr Ali’s family and not to speculate on his death, saying the Covid-19 test done on Dr Ali had turned out negative.
He said Dr Ali, who died on the night of Jan 18, had been admitted to Kuala Lumpur Hospital in December 2020 for other diseases and had undergone several treatment sessions.
“He was an MOH medical officer who was much loved by his colleagues, patients and his local community. Our condolences to the family of Dr Ali Noor bin Hassan on his passing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Ali’s wife has clarified that her husband passed away late at night on Jan 18 due to acute respiratory distress and not fatigue from Covid-19 duties as alleged.
“Suddenly, I received many friend requests because it had gone viral. Many have prayed for my late husband Dr Ali Noor Hassan. Alhamdullilah.
“But the information about his death is not so accurate. He passed away at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) due to acute respiratory distress and not because of Covid-19 or fatigue from his duties fighting Covid-19,” said Asilah Alqarny on Facebook today.