Covid-19: S’wak records 14 new cases, new cluster in Kuching

KUCHING: Sarawak’s daily Covid-19 cases rose to double digits yesterday with 14 new cases, including nine local infections, the State Disaster Management Commi ee (SDMC) said.

With the latest figure, the state’s cumulative number of Covid-19 cases now stands at 1,180 with deaths remaining at 19.

SDMC chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas told a press conference here that half of the cases were recorded in Kuching, while Sibu had three, Sri Aman, two, and Miri and Pusa, one each.

He also announced that five of the cases here were part of a new cluster, dubbed the Keranji Tabuan Cluster.

The deputy chief minister said the index case of the new cluster was detected on Jan 5.

“The five Sarawakians, aged from 24 to 56, were detected through tracing of people who had been in close contact with the positive case. They have all been admi ed at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for further treatment,” he said.

He pointed out that the five were tested for the virus on the day the index case was confirmed positive and they received their results on Jan 6 and 7, adding that they were all classified as local infections.

A total of 54 people, he said, had been screened so far in connection with the cluster and six returned negative, while the rest were still waiting for their results.

The other cases in Kuching were a local infection involving a man who sought treatment at a private hospital on Jan 3 and was found positive for the virus on Jan 6 a er he was referred to SGH, and an import case involving a man who returned from the United Arab Emirates.

The import case was tested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Jan 4 before he arrived here and was found to be negative, but he tested positive on Jan 6 a er he was swabbed on Jan 5 while under mandatory quarantine.

The case was asymptomatic. In Sibu, a Sarawakian woman was tested positive for the virus at the Sibu Airport a er she was allowed to serve out the 14-day quarantine at home.

Uggah said the woman was employed in Singapore and when she entered Johor on Dec 10 with the intention of returning to Sarawak, she was quarantined until Dec 19 and her RT–PCR tests on Dec 11 had returned negative.

“Upon arrival at the Sibu Airport on Jan 4, she was screened for Covid-19 and was ordered to undergo home quarantine for 14 days and to wear the (person under surveillance) wristband. The RT-PCR test returned positive on Jan 6, 2021,” he said.

He said the case was asymptomatic and was classified as an import case.

The second and third cases in Sibu yesterday were also import cases involving a man from Selangor who had returned from his hometown on Jan 4, and a

Sarawakian woman who flew from Kuala Lumpur via Kuching International Airport on Dec 29.

The woman was tested negative at KIA but an rT-PCR test on Wednesday returned positive.

In both cases, they were ordered to undergo home quarantine and issued with the wristband. Both cases were also asymptomatic.

In Pusa, the case was a Sarawakian woman who had returned from Johor on Jan 4 and tested at the Sibu Airport. The woman, who was also ordered to quarantine at home, had shown symptoms from Jan 2. The case is classified as an import case.

Meanwhile, the new case in Miri is linked to the Bah Sayap Cluster and classified as a local infection.

The Sarawakian man, who is a friend of the cluster’s index case, had taken the Covid-19 test at a government clinic on Jan 5 and the result came back positive on Wednesday. He is asymptomatic.

Sarawak currently has four active Covid-19 clusters but no new cases were recorded in the Stutong and Mador clusters yesterday, with cases remaining at 11 and eight respectively.

As for the two cases in Sri Aman, they were screened for the virus as they had been exhibiting signs and symptoms of Covid-19.

They were treated at the Sri Aman clinic on Jan 6 and their test came back positive yesterday. They have since been referred to SGH for treatment and are classified as local infections.