PETALING JAYA: The Selangor government has appointed former health minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad to head the state's Covid-19 taskforce council to tackle the matter in the state.

Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the special taskfoce had met on Tuesday (March 10) morning, and a briefing on the latest update on Covid-19 was made by the state's Health Department.

"During the meeting, we agreed to the formation of the taskforce to observe and contain the virus. Dr Dzulkefly, the former health minister, has been appointed to lead the taskforce," he said in a press statement.

Amiruddin added that the taskforce will be working with the Smart Selangor Command Centre to track down the outbreak through Geographic Information Systems, and information would be shared with the relevant authorities for the next course of action.

He also noted that about 60% of Covid-19 cases in the country were Selangorians.

"The public do not need to worry as the situation is under control. The preventive measures as outlined by the Health Ministry should be followed to prevent infection," he added.

Last week, Amirudin said the state would take measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19, including advising on the size of public programmes that would be allowed, among other things.

"We will also advise certain disciplines that should be adhered to, including no shaking of hands or embracing one another, to avoid physical contact, which is one of the methods of virus transmission.

"For now, we have instructed that all events involving thousands of people to be postponed," he said.

As of March 9, there are a total of 117 positive cases reported in Malaysia, with 24 recovered cases.

An update on the cases is expected to be provided by the Health Ministry later Tuesday.