Five more clusters detected

KUALA LUMPUR: Another five new Covid-19 clusters were detected in the country yesterday, namely three in Sabah and once each in the Federal Territory of Labuan and Selangor.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the three new clusters in Sabah were the Kasih Cluster, the Surat Cluster and the Khazanah Cluster, with the Bah Bundle Cluster in Labuan, and the Sungei Way Cluster in Selangor.

He said the Kasih Cluster was identified in Lahad Datu district when the index case number-12,509 was found to positive after a screening done by health workers on Sept 27, and was admitted to the Lahad Datu Hospital for treatment.

“Screenings conducted on close contacts have detected 33 more positive cases, while 1,804 individuals are still awaiting results,” he said during his virtual press conference broadcast on the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Facebook page yesterday.

As for the Surat Cluster in Sandakan, Dr Noor Hisham said it involved index case number-15,097 who was detected positive after being screened for symptoms, and was admitted to the Lahad Datu Hospital for treatment, while 24 of the patient’s close contacts tested positive and 49 individuals were still awaiting results.

On the Khazanah Cluster also in Lahad Datu, Dr Noor Hisham said index case number-14,842 was detected positive after a screening done on Oct 9, and admitted to Lahad Datu Hospital.

“Screenings done on close contacts resulted in the detection of 13 more positive cases, and as of now, there are 638 individuals still waiting for the results,” he said.

Elaborating on the Sungei Way Cluster, which involves the Petaling and Gombak districts in Selangor and Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Noor Hisham said the index case number-14,307 was detected positive on Oct 7 and admitted to Sungai Buloh Hospital.

“Following screenings done on close contacts, 17 more positive cases have been identified and seven more individuals are still waiting for the results,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the Bah Bundle Cluster in the Federal Territory of Labuan involved index case number-11,771 who was detected positive after returning from a high-risk area in ​​Sabah on Oct 2 and was admitted to the Labuan Hospital.

“Screenings on close contacts have found two more positive cases and 296 individuals are still awaiting results,” he said.

He said other clusters that recorded an increase in the number of cases were the LD Benteng Cluster (17 cases); Tembok Cluster (16); Tujuh Serangkai Cluster (eight); Tanamera Cluster (eight); Utama Cluster (five); Jalan Meru Cluster (two); while the Ramai-ramai, Highway and Prison Remand clusters each recorded one new case.

Meanwhile, the number of new Covid-19 infections in the country jumped to 561 cases overnight compared to 374 cases on Saturday, with two deaths reported.

This brings the infection tally to 15,657 with 4,587 active cases, he said, adding that five new clusters were also identified.

“Of the new cases, 553 were local transmissions, of which 494 are Malaysian citizens while 59 more are foreigners. Eight import cases were recorded.

“Eleven of the local transmissions were those who had returned from Sabah, bringing the total number of cases with a history of travel to Sabah since Sept 20 to 353 cases,” Dr Noor Hisham said.

He said 90 cases are being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), of which 29 require respiratory aid.

Dr Noor Hisham said there were 133 recoveries yesterday, bringing cumulative recoveries to 10,913 cases or 69.7 per cent of the case tally.

Sabah continued to report the highest number of infections with 488, followed by Selangor (25 cases), Kedah (16), Kuala Lumpur (8), Labuan (5), three each in Johor, Melaka and Terengganu while Perak and Penang reported one case each.

On the two fatalities, he said the first (156th overall) was a 67-year-old man who sought treatment at the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan and who had a history of heart disease and tuberculosis.

The second death (157th overall) involved a 63-year-old Malaysian treated at the Tawau hospital with a history of high blood pressure and diabetes, he added. – Bernama

The post Five more clusters detected appeared first on Borneo Post Online.

from Borneo Post Online https://ift.tt/36WVInm
via IFTTT