KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has identified a new Covid-19 cluster in Semporna, Sabah, the seventh cluster so far in the state that heads to the polls this Saturday.
The new Bangau-Bangau cluster has recorded five Covid-19 cases, comprising four Malaysians and one foreign national.
Sabah has recorded 641 Covid-19 cases in the past 14 days, since September 9. Of them, 631 cases were local transmissions and the balance 10 cases were imported cases.
All of the five Covid-19 patients in the Bangau-Bangau cluster were asymptomatic. This cluster came into light in a screening of a patient in Semporna Hospital. As of today, 97 people were screened for the coronavirus under this cluster and five tested positive. A total of 92 individuals are still waiting for the test result.
MOH has yet to spot the cause of the infection in this cluster. The services at Semporna Hospital are not disrupted and function as usual.
A total of 41 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the Benteng Lahad Datu cluster, 40 cases in Tawau and one case in Lahad Datu districts. That brings the total number of positive cases in this cluster to 624.
As of today, 10,045 individuals have been screened in Tawau, Lahad Datu, and Sandakan. this cluster. A total of 466 cases have been registered in Tawau and 157 in Lahad Datu. Another 6,599 individuals tested negative for the coronavirus in Tawau and Lahad Datu while 2,822 individuals are still waiting for the test results in both the districts. So far, one case has been registered in Sandakan.
The breakdown of Covid-19 cases in the Benteng LD cluster is as below:
- 1,735 prisoners and detainees were screened and 514 cases were positive.
- 1,159 staff from the Lahad Datu district police headquarters and Tawau prison were screened and 24 cases were positive.
- 1,394 family members of staff and prisoners were screened and 27 of them were positive.
- 1,482 other government agency officers were screened and all of them tested negative.
- 4,275 social contacts were screened and 59 were detected with coronavirus.
Of the total 624 positive coronavirus cases in the Benteng LD cluster, 324 are Malaysians and the balance 300 are foreigners from the Philippines and Indonesia.
The Pulau cluster in Sabah recorded six new Covid-19 cases, three cases in Kunak and Semporna respectively, bringing the total number of cases in that cluster to 35.
The index case (Patient 9,940) of the Pulau cluster, a 68-year-old Malaysian woman, was found unconscious at home. She was later taken to Kunak Hospital and referred to Tawau Hospital for heart attack, stroke, and liver disease. She tested positive for Covid-19 on September 13.
As of today, a total of 595 individuals have been screened in Kunak and Semporna under this cluster. A total of 253 people tested negative while 307 are still waiting for the test results. Of the 35 positive cases in the Pulau cluster, 31 cases involved Malaysians and while four were Phillipino citizens.
Besides that, Sabah’s Selamat cluster recorded six new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of positive cases in this cluster to 25 cases, involving 21 Malaysians and four foreigners.
As of today, a total of 246 individuals have been screened in this cluster. A total of 25 patients tested negative for the coronavirus while 196 individuals are still waiting for the test results.
Sungai Cluster Reports 83 Covid-19 Cases So Far
At the same time, the Sungai cluster in Kedah recorded nine new Covid-19 cases in the state, bringing the total number of positive cases in this cluster to 83. As of today, a total of 24,744 individuals have been screened in Kedah, Penang and Perlis under this cluster.
Kedah has 82 positive cases under this cluster while Perlis recorded one case. Penang did not register any Covid-19 cases under this cluster. A total of 24,391 individuals tested negative in Kedah, Penang and Perlis while 270 people are still waiting for the test results.
It is to be noted that all of the 83 positive cases in this cluster are Malaysian citizens.
Unlinked Cases In Sabah, Selangor, Sarawak
Apart from this, two unlinked community cases have been recorded in Sabah, involving Malaysians. A case was detected in a community screening and another case was identified during a referral screening to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
A case in Selangor was identified during a pre-procedure screening at a medical centre, while one person was found to have Covid-19 in Sarawak during a symptomatic screening at Sarawak General Hospital. Both of them are Malaysians.
Of the 72 local transmissions today, 60 cases involved Malaysians and 12 cases occurred among foreigners.
Malaysia recorded 10 imported cases today, nine from India and one from Indonesia. That brings the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 10,358 with 665 active cases.
MOH also stated that 168 patients have been discharged today bringing the total number of recoveries to 9,563. Since the country did not record any Covid-19 deaths today, the number of Covid-19 casualties remains at 130.
