By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, April 27: Two healthcare workers are among three new Covid-19 positive cases recorded in Sarawak today.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas disclosed that one positive case was from Kuching, one from Samarahan and one from Bintulu.
“For the Bintulu case, the patient had actually just returned from Kota Samarahan from visiting relatives staying there.
“They tracked her because the relatives that she visited in Kota Samarahan were positive (for Covid-19).
“The protocol is they (State Health Department) will contact all those who have close contact with a positive case.
“When the State Health Department tested her in Bintulu, she was found to be positive.
“That’s why we prohibit movement from one district to another,” he said during a press conference on the state Covid-19 update at the former State Legislative Complex here.
Earlier, Uggah revealed that the two new positive cases involving healthcare workers brings the total number of healthcare workers who tested positive for Covid-19 to 52.
Twenty-one of these healthcare workers out of the 52 were part of the Kuching conference cluster.
Uggah revealed that the two healthcare workers who tested positive for Covid-19 were not infected due to their job but were traced to the Kuching conference cluster stemming from a seminar at a church last month.
With the three new positive cases recorded today, the cumulative number of cases now stands at 488.
Breaking down the number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Sarawak, Uggah who is also Deputy Chief Minister revealed that 166 patients were linked to the Kuching conference cluster, 109 patients from the Sri Petaling cluster, 62 patients from the Italy cluster, 102 patients from smaller clusters, and 31 patients from sporadic cases, and 18 from persons under investigation.
In the meantime, Uggah said there were also 183 new person under investigation (PUI) cases.
On another note, Uggah who is Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Minister revealed that the state government has distributed 2.6 million pieces of face masks to 572,141 households throughout Sarawak.
Meanwhile, Minister for Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian revealed that healthcare frontliners in Sarawak are facing a shortage of N95 masks.
He disclosed the N95 mask stockpile could last for another 29 days, noting that it is a global issue whereby healthcare frontliners around the world are also facing a shortage of N95 masks. — DayakDaily
