Three new Covid-19 clusters, comprising two workplace clusters in Miri and Sibu as well as one community cluster in Sarikei, were declared by the State Health Department today. – Bernama file photo
KUCHING (March 31): Three new Covid-19 clusters, comprising two workplace clusters in Miri and Sibu, as well as one community cluster in Sarikei, were declared by the State Health Department today.
According to the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), the community cluster, dubbed the Jalan Baji Cluster in Sarikei was traced in a housing area and the index case was a 16-year-old teenager who was screened after experiencing symptoms on March 25 at Sarikei Health Clinic,
“The boy who is unemployed, is believed to have been infected from the community. Active Contact Detection (ACD) was conducted on 28 individuals with 19 being tested positive for Covid-19.
“Five were found negative and four are still waiting for their results,” the committee said in a press statement today.
All those who tested positive were referred to Sarikei Hospital and admitted to the Sarikei quarantine and low-risk patients treatment centre (PKRC) for isolation and further treatment.
The workplace cluster dubbed the Jalan Kingsway Cluster in Miri involved a government office, and the index case was a 54-year-old Sarawakian man who was screened after experiencing symptoms on March 17 at Miri Hospital.
“The man who works as an enforcement officer started to show symptoms on March 12 and based on the investigation conducted, he was believed to have contracted it from the community in Miri district.”
ACD conducted on 383 individuals has yielded 50 new cases, with 173 were found negative and 160 are still waiting for their results.
All 51 who tested positive were admitted to Miri Hospital and Miri PKRC for isolation and further treatment. Close contacts to the positive cases were admitted for quarantine centre for isolation and Covid-19 screening.
The other workplace cluster dubbed the Bulatan Aman Cluster in Sibu, involved a factory at Jalan Upper Lanang, and the index case was a 52-year-old Sarawakian man, who was screened after experiencing symptoms on March 19 at Lanang Health Clinic.
“The man who works as a lorry driver started having symptoms on March 18. He was believed to be infected from the community and the infection has spread to his home at Nanga Assan longhouse.”
Further investigation and ACD conducted on 88 family members, close contacts and casual contacts to the index case yielded 42 new cases, of which 18 were family members and the rest were his colleagues. A total of 23 were found negative and 23 are still waiting for their results.
All 43 who tested positive were referred to Sibu Hospital and admitted into Sibu PKRC for isolation and further treatment.
Sarawak has 36 active clusters to date, of which 12 clusters recorded new positive cases.
The Jalan Baji Cluster in Sarikei recorded the highest number of new positive cases at 12, followed by the Jalan Sanyan Cluster in Sibu (10), Bulatan Aman Cluster in Sibu (5), Batu Gong Cluster in Serian (4), Taman Vistagro Cluster in Sri Aman (3), Tanjung Genting Cluster in Sarikei (3), Kampung Baru Hilir Cluster in Samarahan (3), Kingsway Cluster in Miri (2), Semuja Immigration Depot Cluster in Serian (2), Chupak Cluster in Serian (1), Jalan Gridbid Cluster in Miri (1) and Gelong Cluster in Kapit (1).