KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — An unlinked Covid-19 case, who did not go overseas or visit any coronavirus hotspots, was reported today in the interiors of Sarawak in Lubok Antu.
Sarawak’s State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) reported that the member of the security forces working in Lubok Antu, a rural district in central Sarawak at the Kalimantan border, experienced a sore throat on October 5 and got screened for Covid-19 at a public health clinic in Lubok Antu.
The person’s RT-PCR test result was positive for coronavirus on October 8, after which the case from an influenza-like illness screening was admitted to Sarawak General Hospital in the Sarawak state capital of Kuching, four to five hours’ drive away, on the same day.
“This case has never gone abroad or visited areas with high risk of Covid-19 infection in the past month. So far, this case has been categorised as a local infection and this case is still under further investigation to determine the source of infection and contact tracing for this case,” SDMC said in a statement today.
Two other Covid-19 cases were reported in Lubok Antu today, who had Sabah travel history. They were a Sarawakian mother and child who returned to Sarawak on September 27 from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Their first Covid-19 test upon arrival at the Kuching International Airport showed negative results.
But a repeat test with RT-PCR on Day 10 of their quarantine showed positive results on October 8. Both cases did not show any symptoms of Covid-19.
Kuching reported four new Covid-19 cases today, including three who had returned from Sabah. The trio were members of security forces who came back to Sarawak after working during the Sabah state election.
After arriving in Kuching on September 28, they got tested for Covid-19 on September 29 while under 14-day quarantine at Pulapol. Their results were negative. But a repeat RT-PCR test on October 7, Day 10 of quarantine, showed the trio had tested positive for the coronavirus. None of them showed any Covid-19 symptoms and they have been admitted to Sarawak General Hospital.
The fourth Kuching case was a security officer who had close contact with a confirmed case, Sarawak Patient 718, while working at the Kuching International Airport on October 2. The person did not show any coronavirus symptoms.
The districts of Daro, Bau, and Bintulu each reported one new Covid-19 case. The coronavirus cases in Daro and Bau had Sabah travel history, while the Bintulu case had returned from peninsular Malaysia, having previously travelled to Kedah and Kuala Lumpur.
The Bau case was a Sarawakian who arrived in Kuching on September 27 from Kota Kinabalu and tested negative for Covid-19 upon arrival at the Kuching International Airport. But another RT-PCR test taken on Day 10 yielded a positive result on October 8. The person did not display any coronavirus symptoms.
Five districts in Sarawak are currently yellow zones — Bintulu, Sibu, Lawas, Lubok Antu, and Kuching — while the remaining 35 districts are green, having reported zero new local Covid-19 cases within the past 14 days.
