File photo for illustration purposes
KUCHING (May 2): A wake at a village Bau resulted in a new cluster, dubbed the Sungai Tengah Cluster, which was one of three new Covid-19 clusters declared by the State Health Department today.
All three were community clusters, with the other two in Bintulu and Sri Aman.
The Sungai Tengah Cluster involved a village at Sungai Tengah, Jalan Matang in Bau. The index case is a 55-year-old housewife who went for a screening after experiencing symptoms at Bau Hospital on Apr 24.
“She attended a wake for a relative who passed away at the village from Apr 19-21. The spread of the infection was believed to be caused by the funeral to family members and local community at the village,” said SDMC in a statement today.
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Active Contact Detection (ACD) was conducted on close contacts and casual contacts with 22 tested positive, 110 negative and 42 awaiting lab results.
All those who tested positive were admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and Kuching and Bau quarantine and low-risk patients treatment centre (PKRC) for isolation and further treatment.
The Sungai Sebemban Cluster in Bintulu involved a longhouse at Sungai Sebemban, Jalan Pesisir Kuala Tatau.
The index case is a 68-year-old woman who went for a pre-medical treatment screening on Apr 25 after experiencing full body weakness and no appetite.
Further investigation and ACD on her family members and casual contacts, and targetted screening at the longhouse has revealed additional 20 cases.
A total of 58 people were screened involving this cluster, with 32 negative and six still waiting for their results.
All those who tested positive were admitted to the Bintulu Hospital and Bintulu PKRC for isolation and further treatment. The longhouse was also placed under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) to control and curb spread of the infection.
The Sebujok Cluster in Sri Aman involved two longhouses at Sebujok and Kaong Ili Skrang in Engkilili. The index case is a 62-year-old woman who went for screening at Betong Hospital after experiencing symptoms on Apr 23.
Further investigation and ACD on her family members and casual contacts, and targetted screening at both longhouses has revealed additional 14 cases.
As such, a total of 163 people were screened, with 21 negative and 127 still awaiting lab results.
Three of the positive cases were referred to SGH and 12 were referred to and admitted into the Sri Aman and Betong PKRC for isolation and further treatment. Close contacts to the positive cases were also admitted into the quarantine centre for isolation and more screenings to control and curb spread of the infection.
At the same time, SDMC also announced the end of Jalan Tanjung Cluster in Bintulu, Jalan Tanjung Kidurong Cluster in Bintulu, Jalan Merpati Cluster in Miri and Rajang Cluster in Tanjung Manis after they did not recording any new positive cases in the last 28 days.
Meanwhile, the state has 78 active clusters, with 19 continuing to report 219 new Covid-19 cases today.
The clusters that reported new cases were Sungai Duan Cluster in Mukah (102), Sungai Ranan Cluster in Kanowit (33), Sungai Sebemban Cluster in Bintulu (17), Sebujok Cluster in Sri Aman (13), Melugu Cluster in Sri Aman (13), Rayang Cluster in Serian (8), Sungai Tuah Cluster in Kanowit (5), Jalan Selirik Cluster in Kapit (5), Sungai Tengah Cluster in Bau (4), Jalan Disa Cluster in Sibu (4), Sileng Dayak Cluster in Lundu (4), Duranda Emas Cluster in Serian (2), Putai Cluster in Bukit Mabong (2), Sains Bakam Cluster in Miri (2), Bulatan Aman Cluster in Sibu (1), Sungai Passin Cluster in Matu (1), Sungai Rian Cluster in Meradong (1), Durin Cluster in Bau (1) and Nanga Tajam Cluster in Selangau (1).