By Karen Bong
KUCHING, May 13: Sarawak reported one new Covid-19 case in Sibu today after only a span of 48 hours with no cases.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas informed that the case, being treated in Sibu Hospital, involved a student, who returned from Temboro Karas Meagetan, in East Java of Indonesia.
“The PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) test (for Covid-19) was taken in Pullman Hotel in Kuching (where he was quarantined) and the results were negative twice.
“But the third test carried out by the Sibu Division Health Office came out positive,” he told a press conference on Covid-19 here today.
Uggah explained that the student was from group of nine who were quarantined in Kuching, of whom seven of them have tested positive of Covid-19.
“We need to break the chain (of infection) and we are waiting for the experts to give us advice,” he said.
With a new positive case, this brought the number of positive cases in the state to 544 since the first case was detected in March 13.
A total of 136 patients are being treated in hospitals throughout the state with only one patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
“There are 16 recoveries with 14 patients from Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and two patients from Sibu Hospital had been discharged.
“From the overall cases, 71.69 per cent of Covid-19 patients have recovered and returned home,” Uggah said.
Sarawak, he continued, also recorded 62 more person-under-investigation (PUI) cases today while 15 cases are still awaiting laboratory test results.
“There are 45 more Sarawakians returning to the state have been checked in to identified hotels as person-under-surveillance (PUS) to undergo compulsory 14-day quarantines,” he added.
Meanwhile, Uggah updated that the Active Case Detection (ACD) operation in Kampung Tabuan Lot here had been encouraging.
“We did not have to go door-to-door as much because many residents have turned up at the screening centre to get information and give their samples.
“Their cooperation was very good so thank you very much to the people there,” he commended.—DayakDaily
