KOTA KINABALU (Nov 21): Sabah recorded 437 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, a decrease of 108 cases from the day before.
Tawau and Beaufort each reported one death.
A new workplace cluster, namely Sawit Mania Cluster, was reported in Kinabatangan.
Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said most districts registered a decrease in infections, including Penampang (-10), Papar (-11), Kota Belud (-19), Tenom (-12) and Tuaran (-25).
Kota Kinabalu remained at the top with 98 new cases, while Kinabatangan saw an increase of 17 cases due to the cluster.
Masidi who is Sabah’s Covid-19 spokesperson, said the cluster, which was reported at Amalania oil palm plantation in Kinabatangan, was detected through RTK-Ag screening on 59-year-old local man who works as a driver at the plantation. Another 16 of his social contacts, co-workers and dependents also tested positive for Covid-19.
Masidi said districts that often reported high number of cases also recorded large numbers of sporadic infections (symptomatic category).
For instance, he said 45 of the 98 cases in Kota Kinabalu were detected through symptomatic screenings, as were 19 of the 39 cases in Penampang, 23 of the 38 cases in Kota Belud and 13 of the 26 cases in Ranau.
Overall, he said 46 per cent or 201 out of the 437 cases were detected from symptomatic screenings that arose from sporadic infections.
Hence, Masidi stressed the importance to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and exercise self-discipline to prevent Covid-19 infection, especially in public places or during group meetings.
“Vaccine does not provide 100 per cent protection against (Covid-19) infection even though one is fully vaccinated.
“It only protects us from the serious effects of Covid-19 infection that could be fatal.”
He also urged those who are eligible to obtain booster dose for Covid-19 vaccine to boost their immunity.
Meanwhile, he said 420 out of the 437 new patients fell under Category 1 and 2, two were in Category 3, one in Category 4 and three in Category 5. Eleven patients were still being assessed by the State Health Department.