Medical workers collecting swab samples for Covid-19 testing. – Bernama photo
KUCHING (Nov 20): Sarawak today recorded 255 new Covid-19 cases today, with 248 of them under Categories 1 (asymptomatic) and 2 (mild symptoms), said the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
The committee elaborated in its daily Covid-19 update today that 85 cases were in Category 1 and 163 in Category 2.
There are 3 cases under Category 3 with patients having pneumonia, one case in Category 4 with the patient having pneumonia and needing oxygen support, and three cases under Category 5 with patients having pneumonia and needing ventilator support, SDMC added.
The cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in Sarawak to date is at 249,091.
On the breakdown of cases, Kuching remained on top today despite a decline to 76 cases, followed by Miri (47), Bintulu (21), Sibu (19) and Serian (16).
Lawas meanwhile recorded nine new cases followed by Samarahan (8), Bau and Subis six cases each, Simunjan (5), Lundu, Pusa and Matu four cases each; Sarikei, Saratok and Dalat three cases each; Mukah, Limbang, Betong, Meradong and Tebedu two cases each; and one case each in Sri Aman, Kapit, Song, Asajaya, Belaga, Kabong, Kanowit, Selangau, Telang Usan, Beluru and Sebauh.
SDMC said Sarawak also recorded four deaths from Nov 13 to 17, with two being brought-in-dead (BID) cases involving women aged 42 and 71. The BID cases were brought to the Bintulu Hospital and the Sri Aman Hospital respectively.
The Bintulu BID case did not have any known medical history, while the Sri Aman BID case had hypertension, diabetes and stroke, SDMC said.
There are six Covid-19 clusters that remain active in the state.
Meanwhile, SDMC said three premises in Sarawak have been listed in the Ministry of Health’s Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system today.
They are the Lepapa Hypermarket in Serian, Medan Niaga Satok in Kuching and Medan Mall in Sibu.
This brought the total number of premises in the state listed in HIDE to 669 to date.
HIDE premises and locations had potential to turn into clusters if preemptive actions were not taken and are different from the list of clusters issued each day by the Health director-general.
Premises listed under HIDE do not need to close except when directed by the authorities.
If no hotspots emerged in the premises after the implementation of pre-emptive actions, these premises would be removed from the HIDE list within a period of seven days after their listing.