KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Sarawak today reported two young adults aged below 40 years who died from Covid-19 before they could seek medical treatment, out of six new coronavirus-related fatalities.
According to the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), Sarawak Patient 20,392, a 30-year-old local man, was found unconscious at home and brought to Bintulu Hospital on April 11.
He experienced fever and cough a few days prior, then died on April 11. An RT-PCR test conducted post-mortem the next day confirmed Covid-19 diagnosis. The victim had high blood pressure and gout.
The second brought-in-dead case was Sarawak Patient 28,397, a 37-year-old Sarawakian man, who was found unconscious at home on April 24 in Sibu. He had chest discomfort and fatigue two days prior, but did not suffer from underlying health conditions.
A post-mortem RT-PCR test on the day of his death confirmed he was Covid-19 positive.
The third brought-in-dead case, out of six new Covid-19 deaths reported in Sarawak today, was a 52-year-old Sarawakian man, Sarawak Patient 27,388 — with high blood pressure and diabetes — who sought treatment at a private hospital in Bintulu for cough two days prior.
He was allowed to return home after testing negative on an antigen RTK test, a rapid test that is less accurate than the gold-standard RT-PCR test. On April 23, his family found him unconscious and brought him to Bintulu Hospital where he died that same day.
An RT-PCR test conducted post-mortem on April 24 showed he was positive for Covid-19.
Another coronavirus death involved a 76-year-old Sarawakian woman, Sarawak Patient 27,158 who tested positive on RT-PCR for Covid-19 on April 23, after she was admitted into Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching when she fell unconscious. She had fever, loss of appetite, and fatigue a few days prior.
The woman, who had diabetes, died three days later on April 26. Her quick death was not classified as brought-in-dead.
The fifth and sixth Covid-19 deaths reported in Sarawak today involved a 79-year-old Sarawakian woman in Kuching, who died within 13 days on April 27 after hospital admission, and a 54-year-old Sarawakian man in Sarikei.
The Sarikei resident had tested negative for Covid-19 with the antigen RTK on March 31, after he sought treatment at a private clinic for cough and fever. But he tested positive a day later on April 1 with an RT-PCR test during a screening of high-risk areas.
He was admitted into Sarikei Hospital when his condition deteriorated and later died on April 28. The 54-year-old man had high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and obesity.
Sarawak reported 416 new Covid-19 cases, of which 48 per cent were detected in Kapit, Sibu, Bintulu, Meradong, and Miri. Only 55 of these cases, about 13 per cent, of these 416 cases showed symptoms.
The Covid-19 death tally in Sarawak has now reached 171 fatalities, with the six new deaths today.
