File photo for illustration purposes
KUCHING: Sarawak recorded three new positive Covid-19 cases today, bringing the total number of positive cases in the state to 583, said the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
It said in a statement that two of the cases were from Kuching district, while one was recorded in Samarahan district, resulting in both districts being classified as yellow zones.
“Case 581 involved a non-Malaysian man working as a project engineer at a local company in Kuching. He had a sore throat on July 12 and had undergone an rT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) swab test for Covid-19 at a private hospital on July 14.
“The lab results found that the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs tested positive for Covid-19 on the same day,” it said.
For case 582, the committee said it involved a health personnel on duty at a private hospital in Kuching.
“The patient did not show any signs or symptoms and went for a rT-PCR swab test for Covid-19 at a private hospital on July 14 and on the same day, the lab results found that the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs tested positive for Covid-19,” it said.
On the case in Samarahan, SDMC said it involved a local man who lives in Kota Samarahan and works as an engineer at the same company as case 581.
“He also did not show any signs and symptoms during the screening at the private hospital.
“However, lab results from the rT-PCR swab test for Covid-19 taken on July 14 came back positive on the same day,” it added.
The committee said all three cases were local transmissions as neither of them had a history of travelling nor did they return from overseas.
“All three cases are still under investigation.
“Tracing of close contacts involving family members and the workplace of the cases are still ongoing,” it said.
On the number of persons-under-investigation (PUI), SDMC said 22 new cases were recorded today while 18 cases were still pending lab test results.
“Currently, 11 cases are still being treated at hospitals throughout the state,” it said, adding that there are no recovered Covid-19 patients today.
The number of recoveries remain at 554 or 95.03 per cent out of the overall cases.
Since the first positive Covid-19 case was reported on March 13, the state has recorded a total of 18 deaths.