Malaysia reports first recovered case from novel coronavirus

KUALA LUMPUR - A four-year-old Chinese national who had previously diagnosed with the novel coronavirus has fully recovered and will be allowed to return home to China, the Malaysian Health Ministry said late Tuesday.

The girl had been one of the 10 confirmed cases in the country and the first one to have recovered after testing positive on Jan 29, according to Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The patient was being treated on Langkawi Island in Kedah state, a popular tourist destination.

Nor Hisham said the girl had tested negative twice over 24-hours for the infection.

"This case shows that the 2019-nCoV infection is treatable and that the patient can recover completely, as many other cases have also been reported in China. The idea that many people have that the disease is always fatal is not accurate," he said.