Tiong speaks to some residents at Sungai Plan who have turned up for a swab test.
BINTULU: The increase of Covid-19 positive cases recorded here on Monday, which turned Bintulu District into a Red Zone, was the result of the relevant authorities’ enhanced efforts in contact-tracing of potential cases via active case detection (ACD).
Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who pointed this out in a statement yesterday, said it was not because of fresh outbreaks among the local communities.
“Contact-tracing, coupled with mass screenings, were able to detect many more cases, which had been diagnosed as asymptomatic at first,” he said.
Taking Sungai Plan’s situation as an example, Tiong said some people with asymptomatic infections or mild symptoms in this densely-populated area were detected via mass screenings.
“With mass screenings, the authorities were able to detect the confirmed cases quickly; thereby, preventing another cluster and making it possible to break the chain of transmissions here.
“This is a win for all of us in suppressing Covid-19 and more outbreaks. It is the result of disciplined surveillance and ACD operations,” said Tiong, adding that this action must be commended and emulated.
He added that it would be disastrous if these asymptomatic patients were not detected and had moved about in the communities, spreading the virus unknowingly.
Bintulu became the sixth Covid-19’s Red Zone in Sarawak on Monday after recording 46 new local infection cases in the past two weeks.
The divisional disaster management committee had, on Monday, also announced that several localities at Sungai Plan had to be sealed off to enable the authorities carry out the ACD operations.
The affected localities are a squatter’s settlement built on a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) land, as well as Sungai Plan housing flat Blocks E, F, I and P.
Police personnel were stationed in the area to restrict the people’s movements, in and out.
Bintulu police chief Supt Zulkipli Suhaili said police and Armed Forces enforced the controlled movement order in the affected localities, effective from 7pm on Monday and
would remain in force pending further instructions from the divisional disaster management committee.