Covid-19: Latest death in S'wak raises state death toll to 16

KUCHING: Sarawak's Covid-19 fatalities rose to 16 after another patient succumbed to the disease on Wednesday (April 22).

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said the 72-year-old woman from Lingga in Sri Aman had high blood pressure and a growth in the stomach.

She was referred to Sarawak General Hospital here on April 20, after suffering epigastric pain and shortness of breath.

"A Covid-19 test was done and the result came back positive on April 22. Her condition deteriorated while receiving treatment at SGH and she passed away at 9.15am.

"The state government expresses condolences to the family on a very sad occasion," Uggah said at the Sarawak disaster management committee's daily Covid-19 briefing on Wednesday.

He said the patient had no history of exposure to Covid-19 cases, and the source of her infection was still being investigated.

Uggah also said Sarawak recorded 19 new cases, bringing the state's tally of confirmed cases to 455.

A total of 105 people in the state have now recovered after 17 more were discharged from hospital.

Meanwhile, he said one of the state's four task forces had begun contacting over 2,000 people, who were close contacts to Covid-19 patients in Kuching but have yet to be screened for Covid-19.

He said as of Wednesday, 207 people had been called, of whom 82 agreed to be screened at the Unimas City Campus and another 111 made appointments to be screened at the Youth and Sports Complex here.

"We are continuing to trace the contacts. We want to try to catch up with any possible positive cases so that we can cut off the chain to ensure there will be no spread," Uggah said.