Bernama file photo for illustration purposes.
KUCHING (Aug 24): Sarawak recorded five new positive Covid-19 cases, bringing the total cumulative tally in the state to 696, said Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
He said that out of the five cases, three were recorded in Kuching while two were recorded in Bintulu.
This turns Bintulu from a green zone to yellow zone, he added.
“All five cases are locally transmitted based on initial findings. Further contact tracing is being done,” Uggah said during a press conference today.
Case 692 is a 24-year-old Indonesian construction worker who went for a self screening on August 23 at a private hospital here as a requirement for new employment. He was found positive for Covid-19 on the same day, and had not shown any symptoms.
Case 693, 50-year-old Indonesian construction worker who is an acquaintance to case 692 also went for self screening that same day as a requirement for new employment and was also found to be positive for Covid-19 that day and showed no symptoms.
Both of them are being isolated and warded at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), said Uggah who is also a deputy chief minister.
“The second Kuching case, case 649 is of a 35-year-old woman who works as a graphics designer. She was screened for Covid-19 when seeking antenatal treatment at a private hospital here on August 23, and was found to be positive of the virus that same day,” he said, adding that the woman showed no symptoms, and has been isolated and warded at SGH.
Case 695 is of a local 40-year-old man who works as a chargeman at an oil rig in Bintulu.
Uggah said the man arrived in Miri from Selangor via flight from Kuala Lumpur on July 18 to undergo a three-day work training before proceeding to Bintulu on July 22 and reporting for duty on July 23.
Upon returning from the oil rig at Bintulu Port on August 20, he immediately underwent quarantine at a hotel in Bintulu. His sample was taken on August 21.
His result returned positive for Covid-19 on August 23, and he was immediately brought to Bintulu Hospital for isolation and treatment. Uggah said the man was asymptomatic.
Case 696 is of a 40-year-old Indonesian who works as an insulator for a company at the Samalaju industrial area.
“The man underwent screening at a private hospital on August 22 because he planned to go back to his home country afterwards,” said Uggah.
He said the man’s lab test result returned positive for Covid-19 on August 23, and he was immediately isolated and warded at the Bintulu Hospital.
He has been staying in Sarawak since 2015 and has no record of overseas travel since.
Meanwhile, six clusters are still active in Sarawak, said Uggah. They are the Engineering Firm Cluster with eight cases, Mambong Cluster (7), Sentosa Cluster (31), Melbourne PUI Cluster (3), Satok Market Cluster (4), and the Bintulu Alam Cluster (7).
No recovery and discharged cases were recorded today, and 15 active cases are being isolated and treated at hospitals across the state to date, said Uggah.
“Nine are in Bintulu Hospital, four in SGH, one in Sibu Hospital and one in Miri Hospital,” he said.
Uggah also revealed that five new person-under-investigation (PUI) cases were also recorded today, all of them still waiting for their lab test results.
At the same time, 116 new person-under-surveillance (PUS) cases were recorded today, making a total of 819 cases being isolated and quarantined at 14 hotels across Sarawak.