KUCHING: Sarawak recorded 27 new positive Covid-19 cases today, bringing the total number of cases in the state so far to 846.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said that of these 27 cases, 20 were from Kuching, four from Miri, two from Sibu and one from Bintulu.
Of the 20 locally-transmitted cases recorded in Kuching, 14 were contacts of Case 798 reported on Oct 26.
“These cases have social contacts and have a history of attending several gatherings with Case 798 in Kuching,” he said at the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) Covid-19 update press conference on Wednesday (Oct 28).
He said these cases underwent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at a private healthcare facility in Kuching, with the test results returning positive on Oct 27.
He said the other six cases reported in Kuching were individuals aged 19 to 54 who underwent self-screenings at private healthcare facilities in Kuching.
“The cases do not have a history of travel to Covid-19 infection risk areas. Further investigation and contact tracing are being carried out,” he said.
Uggah, who is also SDMC chairman, said three of the four cases reported in Miri had returned from Covid-19 infection risk areas while the other was a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case.
“The three are colleagues who arrived in Miri from Kuala Lumpur (KL) to sign on at the oil rig. The cases arrived at the Miri Airport on Oct 25 and were undergoing quarantine order in Miri,” he said.
He said the cases underwent RT-PCR screening on Oct 26 and the test results were positive. The cases were categorised as infections from Covid-19 infection risk areas (Import B).
The other case in Miri was a local man with a history of travel to Kuching on Oct 21; he met Case 818, a contact of Case 798.
“The case experienced symptoms of fever, cough and sore throat. The case is categorised as Import C, that is, case of infection from outside the district,” he said.
He said the two new cases in Sibu were individuals who returned from Covid-19 infection risk areas.
According to Uggah, the first case, a male frontliner with a history of travel to Selangor, arrived at Sibu Airport on Oct 25 and was undergoing the 14-day mandatory quarantine.
“The case underwent an RT-PCR test upon arrival at Sibu Airport and the test result was positive. The case experienced flu symptoms as well as loss of sense of smell. The case was admitted to Sibu Hospital for further treatment,” he said.
The second Sibu case was a female citizen who was a student in Johor.
Similar to the other Sibu case reported, she arrived at Sibu Airport on Oct 25 where she underwent an RT-PCR and was found positive for Covid-19. She had symptoms of cough and flu.
“The case has been admitted to Sibu Hospital for further treatment,” he said, adding that these two cases were categorised as infections from Covid-19 infection risk areas (Import B).
Uggah said the case detected in Bintulu was a Filipino man who was working aboard an LNG tank ship registered in Malaysia. He had not experienced any symptoms.
“The case arrived in Malaysia from the Philippines on Sept 27 and underwent a quarantine period in KL. The first RT-PCR test result done on Sept 27 showed a negative result,” he said.
Uggah said the case continued his journey to Bintulu on Oct 15 and was instructed to undergo quarantine there. The second RT-PCR screening done by the case on Oct 25 found him to be Covid-19 positive.
“The case is categorised as an infection from overseas (Import A) based on his early movement history,” he said.
He also said that two new cases had recovered and been discharged from the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) on Wednesday, bringing the total number of recovered and discharged cases to 738 or 87.23 percent.
As of Wednesday, there were 89 individuals undergoing treatment at hospital isolation wards – 81 in SGH, five in Miri Hospital, two in Sibu Hospital and one in Bintulu Hospital.
“Thirty-three new person under investigation (PUI) cases have been reported and one PUI is still awaiting laboratory results,” he said.
Uggah also revealed that on Wednesday, 142 persons under surveillance (PUS) checked into hotels to undergo quarantine, bringing the total number of PUS at 23 hotels to 2,048 while 28,512 PUS had completed their quarantine period.
