By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Mar 6: All individuals from Sarawak who had direct contact with Covid-19 patient Case 33 who had travelled to Kuching for a meeting in Feb 16 and 17, have tested negative for the disease.
Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian revealed this but did not provide the number of close contacts involved.
“Quite a lot of them but they all tested negative so that’s the most important.
“All close contacts to the patient had been traced and they tested negative,” he said when receiving a delegation from Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Sabah at the SUPP Headquarters here today.
Dr Sim, who is Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president, expressed relief and gave assurance that Sarawak was still free from Covid-19 which has affected 90 countries and territories around the world since its outbreak which originated from Wuhan, China.
“We are very worried of the potential risk of those from infected countries, be it Peninsular Malaysia or Singapore and other affected areas, coming into the state,” he added.
Meanwhile, the 33rd Covid-19 patient was a 58-year-old man who had travelled to Kuching to attend a meeting on Feb 16 and 17 and was tested positive for Covid-19 on March 2.
He was a close contact of Case 26, a 52-year-old man who had travel history to Shanghai, China in the middle of January.
Case 33 is currently warded at Sungai Buloh Hospital in Selangor and is reported to be in stable condition.
Case 26 was reported to be a senior official of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and UDA Holdings Berhad. He was reportedly came in close contact with a former minister and deputy minister, who both tested negative for the virus. —DayakDaily
