File photo for illustration purposes
KUCHING (Jan 1): Sarawak recorded eight new Covid-19 positive cases today, bringing the total number of infections in the state to 1,125 cases on New Year’s Day.
Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said seven of these new cases were local transmissions, with the remaining one classified as an imported case.
“Of the eight new cases, three each were reported in Kuching and Meradong, and one each in Bintulu and Miri,” said SDMC in its daily update statement.
In Kuching, SDMC said Case 1,118 involved a Sarawakian man, who had a fever and coughing on Dec 29, and was tested positive for Covid-19 on Dec 31.
It added that the case worked in the telecommunication industry and had sought treatment at a private clinic before taking a swab test at a private hospital.
“Case 1,119 involved a Sarawakian woman who underwent the screening on Dec 31. The case has come into contact with Case 1,118, and her test result came back positive on the same day.”
SDMC said Case 1,120 involved a Sarawakian man, who took a swab test on Dec 31 after having a fever and coughing.
It said the case also had close contact with Case 1,118 and had been admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for medical attention.
According to SDMC, all three cases reported from Meradong had come into close contact with a previous positive case.
“These cases are family members of a previous case who tested positive on Dec 29 and had been ordered to quarantine at home after returning from Kuala Lumpur since Dec 19.
“They took their swab tests on Dec 30 and the results of their rT-PCR tests came back positive on Dec 31,” it said.
It said one of these cases lost their sense of smell on Dec 28 and another case had cough symptoms on Dec 31, adding that the remaining one was asymptomatic.
All these cases have been warded at Sibu Hospital.
SDMC said Case 1,124 involved a male Chinese national who had his swab test done at a private hospital in Bintulu on Dec 30.
The case has been working at an iron factory in Samalaju, Bintulu since 2017 and he returned to China in March last year.
“The case, with 14 other friends, took a swab test before returning to China on Dec 31 and was found positive for the virus on the same day. The case complained about a runny nose on Dec 22, but did not undergo any test.”
SDMC said the Bintulu Division Health Office learned about the test result on Dec 31, and the case along with 14 other friends were already at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
It said investigations showed that the group was taken in a private vehicle to the airport before boarding the plane to Kuala Lumpur.
The case had been referred to the Selangor Health Office for further action and warded at Sungai Buloh Hospital.
“Case 1,125 involved a man from Selangor who entered Sarawak through Miri Airport from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Dec 27. The case is a civil servant who returned to Banting, Selangor on Dec 13 for a break.”
SDMC said the case was ordered to quarantine at home since he lived alone. The case took his rT-PCR test on Dec 29.
SDMC said the case had a fever on Dec 30 and his test result came back positive on Dec 31, and had been referred to Miri Hospital for treatment.
It added that contact tracing for all these cases are being actively carried out.