By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, May 26: An oil palm plantation estate manager in Saratok has tested positive for Covid-19 and infected 14 others, sparking the Lubok Nitik Cluster.
According to reports from the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), the Lubok Nitik Cluster is a workplace cluster which involved an office and worker quarters of an oil palm plantation company in Lubok Nitik in Saratok.
“The index case to the cluster is case 39,659 which is a manager of a plantation estate identified through symptomatic screening at Saratok Hospital on May 17.
“He tested positive for Covid-19 on May 19.
“Also testing positive for the virus are three of his colleagues who underwent screening on the same day,” SDMC said.
At present, the committee said a total of 147 individuals related to the cluster have been screened for Covid-19.
Out of that number, 15 have tested positive including the index case while 132 individuals are awaiting the results of their Covid-19 swab test.
SDMC added that the positive cases have been referred to Saratok Hospital and admitted to quarantine and low-risk treatment centres in Saratok for isolation and treatment.
Meanwhile, the Lubok Nitik Cluster is one of the four new clusters of Covid-19 identified in Sarawak today.
The other three new clusters are Kampung Semerah Padi Cluster, Jalan Sukma Cluster and Akedemi Semariang Cluster which are all in Kuching.
With additional four new clusters of Covid-19 identified, there are a total of 87 active clusters of coronavirus in Sarawak.
Out of the 87 active clusters, 14 active clusters reported 95 new cases of Covid-19.
The balance of 73 active clusters report zero cases of Covid-19.
On another note, there is one cluster of Covid-19, the Tabuan Melayu Cluster in Kuching which ended after reporting zero cases in the past 28 days. — DayakDaily
