File photo of a man getting tested for Covid-19.
KUCHING (May 20): Sarawak’s daily Covid-19 infections shot up to 608 new cases along with two fatalities today, said State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
In its daily update, SDMC said 442 cases or 72.7 per cent of the new cases were detected in Sibu, Miri, Kuching, Kapit and Bintulu, bringing the state’s cumulative number of cases to 40,259.
It added that the two fatalities were reported in Miri and Kuching, bringing the state’s death toll to 293.
Sibu reported the highest number of cases at 120 followed by Miri (110), Kuching (86), Kapit (76), Bintulu (50), Selangau (32), Pakan (19), Bukit Mabong (15), Song (12), Samarahan (11) and Lawas (10).
Other districts that recorded single-digit cases were Serian with nine cases, Sarikei (8), Subis (7), Saratok (7), Mukah (7), Sebauh (6), Bau (5), Belaga (4), Betong (4), Julau (2), Asajaya (2), Pusa (2), Dalat (1), Kanowit (1), Simunjan (1) and Meradong (1).
SDMC said 86 individuals from the new cases showed signs and symptoms of Covid-19 when taking their swab tests.
It added that two of the total new infections were imported cases, one from overseas namely Suriname and the other from other states in Malaysia. Both the imported cases were asymptomatic.
SDMC said one of the fatalities involved an 84-year-old woman who was referred to the Miri Hospital for treatment after experiencing a fever, cough, difficulty in breathing and fatigue.
The case’s rt-PCR test taken on May 18 came back positive for Covid-19.
The health conditions of the case deteriorated and she passed away on May 18. The case had comorbidities.
The other fatality involved a 90-year-old man from Bau who was admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital.
The case, who experienced a cough, had his swab test taken and the result came back positive for the virus on May 8.
The health conditions of the case deteriorated and he passed away on May 19. The case had hypertension and dyslipidemia.
SDMC said Sarawak recorded 717 new recoveries and discharged cases, bringing the state’s cumulative number of these cases to 33,542 or 83.32 per cent of the total infections.
It added that the number of Covid-19 cases that were still being treated at the respective hospitals stood at 6,387.