SIBU, July 22: The illegal immigrant (PATI) who tested positive for the Covid-19 Delta variant is a 29-year old Indonesian woman, while her accomplice is a 22-year-old Indonesian man.
The man was not infected with the disease.
Sibu district police chief, ACP Stanley Jonathan Ringgit in revealing this today said that the duo entered the state on July 5 through a ‘jalan tikus’ (illegal trail) in Pontianak.
“They made their way to the state using the ‘jalan tikus’ and later hitched a ride on a lorry to Sibu,” he said.
ACP Stanley added that the woman is being quarantined at Sibu Hospital while the man is also quarantined at a hotel, both for 21 days.
“They will be detained for investigation under Section 55E/6 (1) of the Immigration Act, 1959/63 once they complete their quarantine period and leave the centre,” he said.
Sibu Divisional Disaster Management Committee (SDDMC) in a statement yesterday said that the only Delta variant case detected here involved an Indonesian illegal immigrant.
The committee added that preliminary screening showed that the person was infected with a ” Covid-19 variant” and samples were sent to UNIMAS (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak) on July 12 for confirmation testing.
“He was detained at Hospital Sibu since July 7, 2021. The investigation found that he had just entered Sarawak from Indonesia on July 5, 2021,” the committee said.
The committee added that another illegal immigrant who had close contact with this positive case was however tested negative. He was subsequently placed under quarantine center for up to 21 days.
“Two locals who also had close contact with the positive case, were tested negative and were also detained at a quarantine center for 21 days,” it said.
The police are investigating the case. — DayakDaily
