KUCHING, March 9: The Citrawarna Keluarga Malaysia event, where an estimated 50,000 people had gathered over four days along the Kuching Waterfront, has spawned a new cluster of Covid-19 cases with 21 individuals testing positive so far.
The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), in its daily update on the Covid-19 situation in the State today, reported that the Citrawarna Cluster in Kuching was triggered by a 45-year-old local man (index case) who tested positive through symptomatic screening at a private hospital on Feb 27.
Following that, a total of 58 close contacts have been identified and screened, whereby 20 more positive cases were detected, while 32 tested negative and six are still awaiting lab test results.
The cases are currently being treated or under quarantine at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centre (PKRC) Kuching.
SDMC also informed that there are a total of 24 other positive cases who do not come under this cluster but have a history of movement around the Citrawarna event.
The spread of the infection, SDMC highlighted, is believed to have stemmed from close association and contact among the attendees of the mass gathering event which has spread up to the second generation of cases.
In this regard, SDMC advised individuals who have attended the programmes or visited the event site which took place from Feb 24 to 27 to monitor their health and conduct self-testing if they experience any symptoms of illness.
The public, especially those who are symptomatic or have tested positive, are advised not to attend gathering activities that would involve the grouping of people in which standard operating procedures (SOP) may be difficult to be complied with.
SDMC also reminded all individuals, especially the high-risk group, to play their role and conduct self-testing if they experience any symptoms or have attended activities that involve a large gathering of people.
With a new cluster declared today, Sarawak now has four active clusters, thought the existing three clusters did not see an increase in cases. — DayakDaily
