KUCHING: The Sarawak Health Department today declared four new Covid-19 clusters in the districts of Kuching, Tebedu, Bintulu and Serian.
The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), revealed in a statement today (July 3), that the Jalan Haji Taha cluster in Kuching was a workplace cluster involving a security company at Jalan Haji Taha.
“Of the 294 individuals who were screened, 121 including the index case were positive.
“143 cases were negative while 30 more are still waiting for their results,” it said.
The Pagar Tebedu cluster in Tebedu involved detainees at the Tebedu Police Station.
The SDMC said 29 people including the index case were positive.
Meanwhile, the 35 Bintulu cluster in Bintulu is a work cluster involving an oil rig. The oil rig has been placed under the EMCO.
“Of the 83 people who were screened, 15 including the index case were positive while another 68 are still waiting for results,” said the committee.
All positive cases were admitted to nearby hospitals and the Covid-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centres (PKRC) for further treatment and isolation.
Meanwhile, the SDMC said the Semuja cluster in Serian involved a detention centre of the Malaysia Immigration Department at the Semuja Immigration Detention Depot.
“This is the second cluster after the first cluster ended on May 8 with 441 positive cases.
“The cluster emerged when six Pakistani detainees tested positive at a private health facility. They were due to be sent back to their country of origin on July 1,” said the committee.
The committee added 59 positive cases were detected during the first screening for admission and placement at the detention depot as well as contact tracing of other detainees on July 1.
It added most of the detainees were Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Indians and Burmese, who had finished their sentences at the Sri Aman Prison and the Sibu Prison Centre.
“The detainees also undergo screening tests twice at the prisons. If they are negative, they will be sent to the immigration detention depot before returning to their countries of origin,” explained the SDMC.
“All detainees at the depot are put in isolation blocks and will undergo further screening test twice. They will be in quarantine for 14 days before being transferred to the main holding centre.”
Of the 74 detainees who were screened, 71 were positive while four were negative during the first screening test., said the committee
All positive detainees were placed at the immigration detention depot PKRC for isolation and further treatment. Further investigation and other contact tracing are in progress.
The State Health Department today also declared an end to five clusters after no positive case were detected or recorded there in the past 28 days.
The clusters that have ended are in Tanjung Kibong in Sibu, Jalan Jambusan in Bau, Lubuk Nitih in Saratok, Sungai Sian in Meradong and Jalan Pinang Riam in Miri.
Of the 96 clusters that are still active, 11 have recorded 33 new cases.
The SDMC also announced that the Simunjan district had turned orange after recording 29 infection cases in the past 14 days.
“This brings the orange districts in the state to three. There are now 27 red districts, nine yellow districts and only one green district,” added the committee.
