By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Jan 22: Two Covid-19 fatalities were reported in Sarawak today with one in Sibu linked to Pasai Cluster while the other was in Miri, thus pushing the death toll to 24 cases.
New Covid-19 cases in Sarawak rose by 229, the highest so far, thus increasing the state tally of infections to 2,931.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas informed that of the new cases, Sibu recorded 168 cases, Miri (28), Kuching (9), seven each in Kanowit, Simanggang, and Lubok Antu while Subi s (2) and Bintulu (1).
“The 23rd fatality in Miri involved Case 2,775 who was a 48-year-old man admitted to Miri Hospital on Jan 19 after experiencing breathing difficulty due to excess water in the body as a result of chronic kidney disease.
“The rT-PCR test on Jan 20 was found positive on Jan 21. He passed away at 2.04am on Jan 21. The patient had comorbid conditions including diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia.
“The 24th death in Sibu involved Case 2,182 who was a 66-year-old man admitted to Sibu Hospital on Jan 17 after experiencing breathing difficulties and was intubated on the same day.
“The patient passed away at 3.11am on Jan 22. The rapid antigen test and rT-PCR test conducted on Jan 17 was positive on the same day. The case had comorbid conditions including diabetes, hypertension and asthma,” he told a press conference on Covid-19 update today.
SDMC extended their deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
Of the 229 new cases today, Sibu recorded the highest number at 168 with 89 cases linked to Pasai Cluster while 79 others were detected from screening involving individuals undergoing screening at various health centres in Sibu District.
“Miri reported 28 cases, out of which 10 cases were linked to Pasai Cluster with eight cases categorised as Import C from Betong, Beluru and Bintulu districts while two were community cases.
“Five cases were linked to Jelita Cluster, four cases to Rakut Cluster and nine cases from health screenings,” Uggah added.
As for the nine cases in Kuching, he said that eight cases were detected from health screening at various health facilities and one was an imported case involving a returnee from Sabah.
“The seven cases recorded in Kanowit were linked to Pasai Cluster while in Simanggang, six cases were linked to Pasai Cluster and one involved an illegal immigrant.
“In Lubok Antu, the seven cases were detected from screening as they had contact with positive cases.
“In Subis, one case was linked to Rakut Cluster and categorised as Import C from Miri while the other case was detected from screening from a health facility.
“Bintulu recorded an imported case involving a returnee from Perak,” he added.
Of the eight active clusters in Sarawak, three clusters saw an increase in cases with Rakut in Miri adding another five cases to increase the total of cases to 33 cases; Jelita in Miri also added another five cases to increase the tally to 40; while Pasai in Sibu added 122 cases to push the tally up to 1,094.
The remaining five clusters namely Bukit Sekubong in Sebauh, Keranji Tabuan and Stutong in Kuching, Bah Sayah in Miri and Mador in Meradong did not report any new cases. — DayakDaily
The statistic of the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak as of Jan 13, 2021.
