SARIKEI (Dec 30): Sarikei Health Department is conducting active contact tracing at Rumah Uming, Sungai Mador, Meradong today after one of its residents was confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19.
When contacted by The Borneo Post, Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas confirmed the case, saying that more details would be released later today in the SDMC daily update statement.
According to a statement released by the department, a resident of the longhouse who returned from Kuala Lumpur who had been ordered to undergo a 14-day quarantine under home surveillance order on Dec 19 had tested positive for Covid-19.
The 37-year-old man underwent a second swab test on Dec 28 at Meradong Health Clinic and the result released the next day confirmed that he tested positive for the virus, the statement said, adding that the man was sent to Sibu Hospital the same day.
At the same time, the department sent three of his family members who had been in close contact with him to undergo quarantine in a hotel in Sarikei.
Today, another 31 residents of the longhouse who had been in close contact with the patient had undergone the rT-PCR test and have been sent to Sibu Pastoral Centre for quarantine.
As it had been established that there were a total of 150 residents of the longhouse, the health department would conduct Covid-19 tests on the rest as active contact tracing gets underway.