Aerial view of Kuching. – Bernama file photo
KUCHING (Sept 29): Sarawak recorded three imported Covid-19 cases here today, bringing the total number of positive cases in the state to 709, said the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
It said in a statement that case 707 involved a local woman who had just returned from Saudi Arabia.
“The case worked as a nurse at a hospital in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and had departed for Malaysia via the King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh on Sept 24.
“She arrived in Kuala Lumpur at noon on Sept 25 before continuing her flight to Kuching at night on the same day,” it said.
The committee said when the case was at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA-1), she underwent Covid-19 screening using the RTK Antigen test which turned up negative.
“She then boarded her flight from KLIA-2 to Kuching and upon arrival at Kuching International Airport (KIA), she was immediately placed at the hotel quarantine centre for a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
“On Sept 27, which is day two of the quarantine, the case underwent Covid-19 screening again using the rT-PCR test which turned up positive on Sept 28,” it said, adding that that the case was asymptomatic and had been referred to Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for further treatment on the same day.
It added that this case has been categorised as an imported case in view that the patient was infected while abroad.
For Cases 708 and 709, SDMC said these cases involved a husband and wife of Myanmar citizenship who had just returned from their vacation in their home country through Kuala Lumpur.
“Case 708, who is the wife of Case 709, is a lecturer at a university in Sarawak and has served here since 2012. She has been back in Myanmar for a holiday since February 25, 2020.
“On Sept 12, both cases flew from Yangon, Myanmar to Malaysia via KLIA-1 where upon arrival, they underwent quarantine at the hotel quarantine centre in Kuala Lumpur as well as took the rT-PCR test for Covid-19 on the same day.
“The results of the first screening test for both cases were found to be negative for Covid-19 on the same day as well while the second test using the RTK Antigen on Sept 21 also turned up negative,” it said, noting that the couple also continued their quarantine until Sept 25.
On Sept 26, both cases then flew back to Kuching via KLIA-1 and upon arrival at KIA, they were immediately placed at the hotel quarantine centre to undergo the 14-day mandatory quarantine as they had yet to stay in Malaysia for 30 days before entering Sarawak, said SDMC.
It said on day two (Sept 27) of the quarantine, both cases underwent Covid-19 screening through the rT-PCR test which turned up positive today (Sept 29).
“Both cases are asymptomatic and have been referred to SGH for further treatment on the same day.
“These two cases are also categorised as import cases,” it added.
SDMC said with the three new positive cases recorded, this resulted in eight patients now being treated at hospitals throughout the state of which four are treated at SGH, three at Miri Hospital and one at Bintulu Hospital.
“There are also no Covid-19 patients who had recovered or were discharged from hospitals today.
“The total number of recoveries remain at 682 which accounts for 96.19 per cent out of the overall cases,” it said.
It also noted that one case reported in Sandakan, Sabah, who received treatment at Bintulu Hospital, has since recovered and was allowed to be discharged from the hospital today.
On the number of person under investigation (PUI), SDMC said 11 new cases were recorded today with one case pending lab test result.
Since the first positive Covid-19 case was reported on March 13, the state has recorded a total of 19 deaths.
Kuching and Lawas districts remain as yellow zones following the three locally infected cases in Lawas and one local case in Kuching reported in the last 14 days.