Five new clusters in Sabah

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KOTA KINABALU: Five new clusters were recorded in Sabah on Tuesday, with three originating from the workplace and two community-related.

The Ocean Blue Cluster here involved navy vessel crew members after screening procedures conducted on 185 members of KD Mahawangsa during their arrival here from Perak on June 6.

“The index case was a 29-year-old crew member who started showing symptoms on June 3 and tested positive during the screening. He was admitted to Covid-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centre (PKRC) for treatment.

“On June 7, screening results recorded 98 more positive cases, while 86 are still waiting for their test results.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, all crew members tested negative on May 28 in Perak before starting their journey to Sabah on June 1. Activities to identify the cause of the infection are still ongoing,” said Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.

Meanwhile, another workplace-related cluster, Kluster Segara involved a Kinabalu Non Associated Gas (KNNAG) rig personnel.

The index case for this cluster was a 40-year-old electrical technician who was confirmed positive from RTK-Ag screening at KPJ Hospital on June 2.

From 141 samples taken, 10 more positive cases were recorded, 110 negative and 20 are still waiting for results.

Kluster Coral here, also involved an oil rig, Pelantar Samarang.

The index case was a 34-year-old cook, who tested positive although not showing any symptoms during sign off screening procedure on June 2.

“Close contact screening was immediately conducted on 283 crew members, and found another eight new positive cases, while the other 274 samples tested negative,” said Masidi.

Kluster Tanjung Aru Baru here, involved the community in the village.

The increase of cases in the area was due to the targeted close contact screening after the announcement of Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) on June 4.

“The index case was a 44-year-old Filipina who tested positive after a symptomatic screening at Putatan Health Clinic on May 25 and currently under treatment at PKRC.

“From 213 samples, 30 cases were positive in Kota Kinabalu, including 20 detected on Tuesday, while 83 samples are negative and 100 are still waiting for results,” added Masidi.

Meanwhile, Kluster Kg Bundu in Kuala Penyu is a community cluster involving several localities namely Kg Bundu Batu 4, Kg Bundu Batu 3, Kg Tenambak, Kg Sg Labuan, Pekan Kuala Penyu and Kg Kitang.

The index case for this cluster was detected on May 24, a close contact to his son who was screened after showing symptoms.

However, the index case had symptoms earlier and his RTK-Ag was confirmed positive with 100 per cent grading.

Contact detection found 38 more positive cases among social friends and family members.

Based on preliminary information, this particular cluster started from social activities at entertainment centers that then infected family members.