Royal Selangor Golf Club confirms fifth Covid-19 case involving member who attended gathering | Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — A day after announcing one of its changing room staff had contracted Covid-19, the Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) has today confirmed its fifth Covid-19 positive case involving a fellow club member.

RSGC said the aforementioned member had tested positive on October 31 and has been admitted to hospital for treatment by the Health Ministry.

“The member played golf on October 25 and was part of the after-golf gathering that took place in the Men’s Bar,” it said in a statement here.

Today’s announcement comes after RSGC advised yesterday its members who have used the clubhouse’s men’s changing room between October 20 and October 27 to get themselves tested after an assigned staff tested positive.

To date, four RSGC members and one staff have tested positive.

RSGC also said the club will remain closed indefinitely until further notice.

On a separate matter, RSGC also clarified that a fellow member that tested positive had not come into close contact with the aforementioned Covid-19 positive changing room staff on October 26 as previously stated in an earlier announcement.

In a statement issued yesterday, RSGC Captain Tan Sri Eddy Chen Lok Loi assured members that their wellbeing was being safeguarded with many keen on returning to normal club life and their daily round of golf.

“We will do our utmost to open up the club in the safest way we can, adhering to best practices and mandatory standard operating procedures (SOP) to minimise any further occurrences.

“There will be inconveniences. Golfing and other activities will not be ‘business as usual’. There will be changes as we try to build confidence and transition to a new normalcy,” he said, adding that a crisis response team has been set up which he heads.

He also apologised on behalf of RSGC for any shortcomings as the club attempts to grapple with the situation, describing it as a harrowing experience for those exposed and infected.

Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya have been placed under a second conditional movement control order (CMCO) after a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Initially, the CMCO that started on October 14 was to last until October 27, but has now been extended until November 9.

Golf was permitted to be played during the CMCO, with certain rules in place; among them was allowing only one buggy per person and for all payments to be made online.

All golf competitions have been suspended until the CMCO ends.