Uggah (centre) speaking before a press conference, flanked by Dr Sim (left) and Ik Pahon (right). – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: There have been 32 suspected cases of Wuhan Coronavirus infections in Sarawak as of Monday with eight of them still awaiting lab results while the rest have returned negative, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
He said of the eight, one is a China national who is now quarantined at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and the others are Malaysians, five of whom are quarantined at SGH and one in Bintulu Hospital and one in Miri Hospital.
“So far there are no positive cases in Sarawak. We pray that the eight pending cases will be negative as well,” Uggah told reporters after chairing a state disaster management committee meeting on the viral outbreak.
Also present were Minister of Local Government and Housing Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian and Deputy State Secretary Datu Ik Pahon Joyik
The novel coronavirus, which originated from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei in China, has claimed more than 360 lives and infected more than 17,000 people, a majority of them in China. Malaysia has confirmed eight cases none of which are in Sarawak.
Uggah said now that Sarawak has its own Rapid Blood Test Kit (RBTK), results of the eight pending cases would be made known between 24 to 48 hours after the samples have been delivered and tested.
“It all depends on the technical issues such as shipping the samples from Miri or Sibu. The samples are to be tested in batches depending on when they are received,” he explained.
Uggah said Sarawak would be allocating some RBTKs for Sibu and Miri so that samples would be able to be tested immediately without the need to ship them all the way to Kuching.
In a related development, Uggah said 16 individuals who have been refused entry into the state since the implementation of the travel restriction last Saturday, have been deported back to their last place of disembarkation.
The 16 individuals comprised of 14 Chinese nationals, an Indonesian and two from Hong Kong, he added.
“Yesterday (Feb 3) no individuals have been refused entry. Those who have been refused entry would have to be deported back to their last place of disembarkation,” he said.
Uggah’s committee had last Saturday announced that Chinese nationals and foreigners who have been to China in the last 14 days will be refused entry into Sarawak until further notice.
Exceptions are given to those who have the Employment Pass, Student Pass and Long Social Pass but they must undergo compulsory self-quarantine at home for 14 days.