Dr Chin Zin Hing
KUCHING: A new Covid-19 cluster involving two nursing homes for the elderly in Sibu is expected to be announced tomorrow, state Health Director Dr Chin Zin Hing said.
Revealing that tests for the infection were being carried out on the residents and some of them have been quarantined, he said the Health Ministry will determine its name.
“We are in the midst of doing contact tracing, getting the homes quarantined and testing all of the residents there. We are testing the remainder of the residents and if they are found to be positive we will admit them,” he told a press conference by the State Disaster Management Committee.
On whether the cases at the homes could be related to the Pasai Cluster, Dr Chin said this too would be made known tomorrow after they have completed their investigation.
“At present we cannot link them to any cluster until we have investigated further or to see if they are linked to the Pasai cluster,” he said, adding that the virus was now in the community in Sibu.
Asked why there was a large number of Covid-19 fatalities in Sibu, Dr Chin said a mortality review had been carried out and there were various factors.
“The hospitals had done their review on the number of deaths and this was because these patients had severe diseases, the aged and those fell into the high risk group. It was the elderly that contributed to the high number of deaths,” he said.
To reduce the fatalities, Dr Chin said those diagnosed with Covid-19 must get admitted as soon as possible and those with symptoms must immediately be sent to the hospital and Crisis Preparedness and Emergency Response Centre for further action.
“These are so that we can monitor them closely and treat them as soon as possible to reduce mortality rate,” he said.
Dr Chin admitted that initially the Health Department was overwhelmed with problems related to retrieval of patients and logistics as the number of cases skyrocketed.
However, the problems have since been resolved with the cooperation of the elected representatives in Sibu, said Dr Chin.
Sibu is the epicentre of Sarawak’s worst Covid-19 outbreak so far, contributing a total of 2,539 cases to the state’s total of 6,832 with many of the cases recorded since January. The district has also recorded the most number of deaths at 33 out of 61 statewide.
The Pasai Cluster, which has 2,576 cases as of today, had originated in Sibu.