BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Aug 8 (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Brunei Darussalam has recorded a new Covid-19 case on Friday evening, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 142 ending 91 days of no new cases.
Case 142 is a local male aged 24 studying in Yemen. He returned to Brunei Darussalam on August 5 on board Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) flight BI874 (seated at 44K) from Kuala Lumpur. Although he reportedly suffered from shortness of breath on August 6, he is currently in a stable condition, no longer has signs of infection and is being treated at the National Isolation Centre.
Thirteen contacts have been identified following contact tracing. All are undergoing quarantine and will take COVID-19 swab tests.
Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar revealed these
details during a press conference at the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) Al-‘Afiah Hall yesterday.
Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham said, “As the case has been taken to the National Isolation Centre upon arrival in the country, the public is advised not to panic or worry as this case has not had any interaction with his family members or others since arriving in the country.”
Explaining about the latest confirmed case and identified 13 contacts, the minister said, “Two Bruneians returned from Yemen. They travelled from Yemen to Cairo, and from there to Kuala Lumpur and then Brunei. They were on the same flight with the 12 Malaysians who returned to Malaysia from Yemen and tested positive for COVID-19 as highlighted by Malaysia in a recent press release. The remaining identified contacts in Brunei are from the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Brunei Darussalam.”
The minister said the public should remain vigilant and take precautions by adopting and practising preventive measures as recommended.
These include physical distancing, avoiding crowded places, wearing a face mask when unable to avoid crowded places, maintaining personal hygiene such as frequently washing hands and practising proper coughing and sneezing etiquettes.
Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham said 564 individuals are undergoing mandatory isolation at government monitoring centres according to the mandatory 14-day isolation order issued on March 20 for those who have just arrived in the country.
A total of 3,938 individuals have completed mandatory self-isolation at the monitoring centres since March 2020.
He said 542 samples have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the past 24 hours bringing the total number of laboratory tests conducted since January 2020 to 43,312. - Borneo Bulletin/Asian News Network
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