By Malcolm Lau
KUCHING, March 17: Sarawak recorded the first Covid-19 death in the country, a 60-year-old pastor from Emmanuel Baptist Church today.
The man was pronounced dead at 11am at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and the State Health Department is still in the process of identifying the source of the deceased’s infection, according to a statement from the State Disaster Management Committee.
In addition, the Ministry of Health (MoH) in a statement said that the pastor has a history of chronic disease.
He started to have fever, cough and breathing difficulties symptoms on March 7 and was treated at SGH in March 14 after testing positive for Covid-19. However, his condition worsened and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
A total of 193 close contacts of the deceased were traced and are now undergoing home quarantine.
So far in Sarawak, 45 Covid-19 cases have been traced to four clusters namely Sri Petaling Cluster, Kuching (Church) Cluster, Sarikei Cluster and another cluster in Kuching for which the source has yet to be identified.
Meanwhile, Sarawak recorded 11 new positive cases as of 5pm today (March 17) with six from Kuching, three from Limbang and one each from Betong and Lawas.
The patients are now being treated at three hospitals namely SGH, Sibu Hospital, and Miri Hospital.
A total of 35 person-under-investigation (PUI) cases were also recorded while 204 patients are still awaiting test results. — DayakDaily
