Health workers collecting swab samples for Covid-19 testing. – Bernama photo
KUCHING (Nov 27): The Covid-19 infectivity rate (Rt) for Sarawak as of November 26 is 0.78, which is the lowest compared to other states in Malaysia, said the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
“The booster dose vaccinations that started on October 13 had a very positive impact on the situation in Sarawak, based on the trend of positive cases, deaths as well as infectivity rate (Rt) which has decreased significantly,” SDMC said in its daily Covid-19 update today.
The committee informed that the positive cases and number of deaths due to Covid-19 in the state have been showing significant downward trend over the past few weeks.
“The average daily new Covid-19 cases reported in Sarawak for November 2021 (as of November 27) was 345 cases a day, and this is a decrease in comparison to October 2021 with an average of 1,013 new cases a day.
“Number of deaths due to Covid-19 for November has also dropped to 181 deaths, compared to 497 deaths in October,” it said.
SDMC said that as of November 26, a total of 90.5 per cent of the total eligible population in Sarawak or 75.5 per cent of its overall population have received two doses of Covid-19 vaccination, while a total of 634,684 people in Sarawak have received booster doses.
The committee expressed its highest appreciation to all the people in Sarawak for having cooperated with all agencies involved and always complied with the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
“With the approval of the booster dose to adults aged 18 to 39 years by the Ministry of Health (MOH) recently, we hope all individuals eligible will come forward to receive their booster dose vaccination when an appointment is given,” it said.
On the news released by the MOH on the new B.1.1.529 variant detected in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, SDMC said to date there has been no report of the variant in Sarawak.
“The laboratory at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Clinical Research Centre (CRC) Sibu will continue to conduct genomic surveillance in Sarawak on an ongoing basis, as early detection measures of new variants in the community.
“SDMC also supports the improvement of border prevention and control measures for travelers arriving from high risk countries, as recommended by the MOH,” it said.
SDMC also reminded the people not to worry or panicked by the news of the new variant, as all prevention measures are still the same, including getting their booster dose vaccinations.
“As such, we call on all citizens not to be complacent with the improving situation in Sarawak but to always stay vigilant and adhere to existing SOP.
“Get your vaccinations as well as booster doses if eligible, so that we all will be protected from Covid-19 infection and its complications,” it said.