By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Jan 21: The Pasai Cluster continues its menace by infecting 88 more Sarawakian residents with Covid-19 today.
Out of 132 new Covid-19 positive cases recorded today, 88 were linked to the Pasai Cluster, thus pushed the total number of cases related to this cluster to 982.
According to Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) statement today, in Pasai area, a total of 8,250 individuals have been swabbed where the results of 5,500 came back negative while the rest of 1,768 were still pending.
Pasai Siong, which is the epicentre of the fourth wave of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in Sarawak, has adversely impacted Sibu district, which today still registers the highest number of cases statewide at 62 with 35 cases linked to the Pasai Cluster.
For Kanowit which is about 45 minutes away from Sibu, the district reported 46 cases today and not surprisingly, all 46 cases were linked to this cluster.
Even in district as far as Miri which has five cases, four of the cases were linked to the same cluster.
For Selangau District and Dalat District which reported one case each respectively, both these two cases as expected were also linked to this much dreaded Pasai Cluster.
The Pasai Cluster was started by an infected individual who had returned from Johore on Dec 29, 2020 to attend a funeral. She was later tested positive for Covid-19 and contact tracing resulted in mass screening in her longhouse as well as nearby longhouses.
By that time when double digit infections were detected, the disease has been brought back by guests attending the funeral to their respective longhouses across Sarawak, reaching as far as Belaga.
Due to the high number of Covid-19 infections, eight longhouses at Pasai Siong have been placed under lockdown since Jan 8, 2021 but the fast spread of the cases has caused Sibu Division including Kanowit and Selangau to come under MCO. — DayakDaily
