221 new cases, one death in Sibu

KUCHING: Sarawak’s new Covid-19 cases yesterday spiked up to 221 after a surge of new cases were recorded in Kuching district at 67, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman in a press conference today said the surge in Kuching was due to a new Emperoh Jambu Cluster in Padawan which recorded 42 new cases yesterday.

Sarawak also recorded one death in Sibu, bringing the total tally of fatalities from the coronavirus in the state to 74 as of yesterday.

The latest death was of a local 58-year-old man who was admitted into the Sibu Hospital after experiencing fever, coughing and breathing difficulty.

His sample was tested for Covid-19 on Feb 7 and his result returned positive for the virus on the same day.

According to Uggah, the man’s health continued to deteriorate and he eventually died on Feb 20.

“The case has a history of comorbidity of Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD) with pulmonary involvement,” he said.

According to new cases breakdown per district, Kuching topped the list yesterday with 67 new cases where 42 were from the new Emperoh Jambu Cluster, 12 from voluntary screenings, 10 from active case detection (ACD), two involving the Kampung Sungai Maong Cluster and one involving a healthcare worker.

Sibu District recorded 63 cases where 43 were from ACD, seven from voluntary screenings, seven involving healthcare workers, three involving the Pasai Cluster and three from symptomatic patients.

In Bintulu, out of a total of 28 new cases, 20 were from ACD, three from voluntary screenings where one of them just returned from Miri, two involving the Jun Heng Cluster, two from symptomatic patients and one involving the Kidurong Dua Cluster.

In Meradong, 24 new cases were recorded where 19 involved the Sungai Bakong Cluster and five from ACD, while in Kapit out of 15 new cases, eight involved the Gelong Cluster, five from ACD, one was a symptomatic patient, and one from voluntary screening.

Kapit District recorded 15 new cases where eight involved the Gelong Cluster, five from ACD, one was a symptomatic patient and one from voluntary screening.

In Samarahan, 11 new cases were recorded where seven were from the Emperoh Jambu Cluster, two Univista Cluster and two from voluntary screenings.