KUCHING: The State Health Department has identified three new Covid-19 clusters, namely Nanga Bulo Cluster, Kampung Hilir Cluster and Jalan Sanyan Cluster in Sarawak.
The Nanga Bulo Cluster is a community cluster involving three longhouses in Nanga Bulo, Entabai in Julau district.
Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) today said the index case for this cluster is case 11,474 — a 55-year-old local woman who was detected through a symptomatic individual screening on March 8 at the Emergency and Trauma Department in Sibu Hospital.
“The case received emergency treatment at Sibu Hospital for shortness of breath, cough and fever.
“After detecting a total of 34 Covid-19 positive cases including the index case, the three longhouses have been placed under lockdown from March 12 to March 25 to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the areas,” said the committee in a statement.
It added of the 160 residents who were screened, 126 were negative.
“A total of 34 positive cases were referred to Sarikei Hospital for isolation and further treatment. They will be quarantined there for 14 days as well as undergo reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rT-PCR) screening,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Kampung Hilir Cluster is also a community cluster that was detected in a village settlement at Jalan Kampung Hilir in Sibu district.
“The case index of this cluster is case 11,947 — a 22-year-old local woman who was detected through a symptomatic individual screening at Lanang Health Clinic on March 10.
“She works as a clerk in Sibu Town and is believed to have contracted the virus from the community in the town,” said SDMC.
Through contact tracing, an additional 34 positive cases were discovered.
“All close contacts to this index case have been placed in a quarantine centre at Laila Taib College in Sibu,” said the committee.
According to SDMC, of the 41 people who were screened, 35 including the index case were positive, four negative while another two are still waiting for their test results.
“All the positive cases were referred to Sibu Hospital for isolation and further treatment. No deaths were reported involving the cluster,” said the committee.
The Jalan Sanyan Cluster is a workplace cluster involving a supermarket at Jalan Sanyan at the centre of Sibu Town.
“The index case for this cluster is case 332 — a 38-year-old local woman who works as a storekeeper at the supermarket.
“She was detected positive through screening of individuals who had contact with a positive case on March 4,” said SDMC.
It added that 19 close contacts to the index case were screened and all were positive.
“All of them were referred to Sibu Hospital for isolation and further treatment. Case detection will be conducted actively at Jalan Sanyan.
“This will involve all employees of the supermarket as well as visitors and occupants of the building where the supermarket operates,” added the committee.
Meanwhile, the State Health Department has declared the end of the Mas Merah Cluster in Sibu district after no new cases were detected within 28 days.
With the identification of the new clusters today, there are now 31 active clusters in Sarawak.
