MIRI: Brunei Darussalam has recorded five new Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases yesterday (March 11), bringing the total number of cases recorded to date to 11.
The first ever Covid-19 case in Brunei was recorded on March 9, which involved a 53-year-old man who went to Kuala Lumpur for a religious gathering on Feb 27.
The Brunei’s Health Ministry in a statement said that the patient and his friends returned home on March 3 via Airasia flight AK5651 to Miri. The patient also made a day trip to Miri on March 6.
The ministry informed that the second case involved a 61-year-old local man who is a friend of the first case who had also attended a religious gathering in Kuala Lumpur and returned home together on March 3.
“He started to have signs of infections, including high fever and breathing difficulties, on March 7.
“Currently, he is in stable condition and no longer has a fever. A contextual investigation is still ongoing for this case,” said the ministry in a statement.
The third case involved the son of the 61-year-old man, who accompanied his father and his friend to the gathering in Kuala Lumpur.
He returned to Brunei on March 2 via Royal Brunei flight B1872 and began showing signs of infection including fever and body aches on March 9. A contextual investigation on the 30-year-old man is still ongoing.
The fourth, fifth and sixth cases are relatives of the 53-year-old man recorded as the first case.
“All six cases confirmed so far have been treated at the National Isolation Centre and are in stable condition, have no fever and do not need breathing assistance,” explained the ministry.
The seventh, eighth and ninth cases were those who attended the religious gathering in Kuala Lumpur.
“The tenth case had no signs of infection while the eleventh case started coughing on March 10. Both cases had no history of travel to Kuala Lumpur and contextual investigations are still ongoing.”
“All of the newly confirmed cases are in stable condition, have no fever and do not need breathing assistance. With these new cases, the number of cases of Covid-19 infections in Brunei Darussalam has so far been 11,” the statement added.
Investigations are still ongoing into all cases, including contact tracing. Quarantine orders have also been issued to some 80 contacts of all confirmed cases.
As of 2pm yesterday, over 100 samples have been taken for testing of the Covid-19 virus of which 66 have been conducted and the rest are still pending.
The ministry also discouraged the public from participating in mass gatherings.
“However, anyone who attends public gatherings including events such as weddings should practice personal hygiene and anyone with signs of infection are not encouraged to attend.
“The Ministry if calling on the public to be more socially responsible,” it added.
For more information and updates, the public can visit www.moh.gov.bn.