SIBU: Sarawak continues to record a high number of Covid-19 positive cases as the state did not change its policy of only detecting close contacts to positive cases, said Dr Annuar Rapaee.
The Sibu Divisional Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) coordinator pointed out that unlike other states, Sarawak continued with its policy of tracking every close contact regardless of whether they were symptomatic or asymptomatic.
He was commenting on the daily Covid-19 cases for Sibu district virtually on his social media on Saturday (Mar 13).
The Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing also said that positive cases should be quarantined even if they were not symptomatic.
“Today (Saturday), out of 222 cases in Sarawak, only 35 cases did not show symptoms.
“However, all the 222 cases are positive and can infect others. For Sibu, out of 38 cases reported today, only eight cases showed symptoms. If we change our policy, that means, we will only report eight cases for Sibu today.
“However, we detect every close contact even if they show no symptoms and we also do not rule out anyone who wants to undergo swab test even if they are not symptomatic,” he said.
The Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technology Research also explained that out of 38 cases in Sibu Division, 19 cases were reported in the Sibu Municipal Council (MPS) areas, 14 cases in Sibu Jaya and five cases in the Sibu Rural District Council (MDLBS) areas.
Dr Annuar added that to date, Sibu had a positive rate of 2.85 per cent.
“In addition, 93.2 percent of Covid-19 patients have been discharged from Sibu Hospital while 14 patients need the help of a breathing machine,” added the Nangka assemblyman.
