By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Oct 14: All three new domestic imported Covid-19 cases recorded in Sarawak today returned from Sabah which has been categorised as a high risk area.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas revealed that the three cases were reported in Kuching, Miri and Limbang respectively, thus increasing the state’s tally to 755.
“Case 753 involved an off-shore technician who transited in Labuan before arriving at Miri Airport on Oct 9. The local man had been on an off-shore oil rig since Sept 8 before signing off duty on Oct 8.
“He was registered into a quarantine centre upon arrival and his first test screening returned positive on Oct 13. He is now isolated and treated at Miri Hospital,” he said during a press conference to give updates on Sarawak’s Covid-19 situation here today.
The case was asymptomatic and contact tracing is currently underway.
Case 754 involved a public university student who had travelled to Kinarut, Sabah on Sept 25 to Oct 3 to attend a relative’s wedding. While there, the case had undergone Covid-19 screening with two test results returning negative.
“Investigations found that the uncle in Kinarut, who also attended the wedding, tested positive on Oct 12. Upon arrival at Kuching International Airport (KIA) on Oct 3, the case was quarantined in a centre. The first test result was negative.
“But the second test on the 10th day returned positive. The case is now being treated at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH),” Uggah explained.
Case 755 is a female student who attended a religious school in Kimanis, Sabah, and who returned to Lawas following the closure of schools in Sabah as per instruction under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).
“The case was permitted to go home to Sarawak on Oct 8 and the school body subsequently sent her to ICQ Merapok. There, she was registered into a quarantine centre but due to a shortage of rooms, she was relocated to a quarantine centre in Limbang on Oct 9 using an express boat.
“The first test returned positive and she is now treated at Miri Hospital. It was reported that she had shown symptoms of early Covid-19 infection on Oct 9,” he added.
With these new cases, Uggah confirmed that a total of 45 patients are receiving treatment in hospitals in the state currently, with 25 in SGH, nine in Miri Hospital, seven in Bintulu Hospital and four in Bintulu Hospital.
Meanwhile, one patient has recovered and was discharged from SGH today, thus increasing the total number of recovered cases in Sarawak to 691 or 91.52 per cent of total positive cases so far.
There are two clusters which are active in Sarawak namely the Bah Arnab Cluster in Kuching with four cases and Putra Cluster in Bintulu with six cases including the index case.
For the Bah Arnab Cluster, a total of 40 contacts has been screened, out of which 36 were negative with no one awaiting lab test results.
There were no new cases reported in the Putra Cluster as of 12pm today which has one of six positive cases registered in Selangor.
A total of 190 contacts have been screened, out of which 146 are negative and 38 individuals are awaiting lab test results.
Four districts, namely Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Lubok Antu, maintained their Covid-19 yellow zone status with total of 12 local transmission cases recorded within the past 14 days.
“For the situation reported in Lubok Antu with three positive cases, a total of 36 people have been screened. Out of the figure, 35 were negative and one still awaiting lab test results.
“While in Sibu with two positive cases (Case 714 and 715), a total of 131 people were screened, out of which, one was positive and the rest were negative,” Uggah revealed.
Sarawak also recorded four more Persons-Under-Investigation (PUI) with two cases pending laboratory test results.
There were also 69 more Persons-Under-Surveillance (PUS) registered into identified hotels to undergo quarantine.
As of today, there were a total number of 1,903 individuals undergoing quarantines in 21 hotels throughout the state. — DayakDaily
