Lee at the press conference after chairing the Miri Division Disaster Management Committee meeting. – Picture by Norni Mahadi
MIRI: A new Covid-19 patient has been hospitalised here but it does not affect Miri’s status as a ‘green zone’ since the case was detected at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), said Miri Division Disaster Management Committee head Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
He told a press conference today that the patient, who is a local, was admitted at the Miri Hospital soon after arriving here on Sunday from KLIA.
Lee, who is the state Transport Minister, explained that the patient had returned from Tunisia and was tested for the virus at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Saturday, before he boarded the flight to Miri.
“The said individual was asymptomatic upon arrival and the subsequent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test returned positive. The individual has been admitted to Miri Hospital for further observation,” he told reporters after chairing the committee’s meeting.
“This case will be registered at the place of detection at KLIA or Selangor point of entry instead of Miri. Hence, it will not appear in Miri and the state case statistic reports,” Lee said.
Lee also said the family members of the individual as well as close contacts on the same return flight have been identified and issued with home quarantine orders by the Miri Health Department.
Covid-19 ‘green zones’ are districts where there has not been any new cases for at least 14 days. Miri has been a green zone since May 9.
Out of 40 districts in Sarawak, only Kuching and Bintulu are classified yellow zones, which are districts with new cases. The state disaster management committee recently announced a new Covid-19 cluster in Bintulu after eight cases were detected there.
As of yesterday, Sarawak’s total number of Covid-19 cases stands at 569 with 17 deaths.
Lee today emphasised that it was vital for members of the public, especially those returning from overseas in the past 30 days, to declare the information in the e-Health declaration form for people entering the state.
He said people could also voluntarily approach and declare the information to the Civil Defence Personnel or health personnel stationed at the Miri Airport.
“Members of the public who failed to declare or withhold information of overseas travel history will be liable to a fine not exceeding RM1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988,” Lee said.