Johor govt says Bakawali cluster expected to end on Oct 28

JOHOR BARU: The Bakawali cluster is expected to end on Oct 28, says Johor health and environment committee chairman R. Vidyananthan (pic).

He pointed out that the cumulative cases for the cluster which was reported on Sept 29 still remained at 15 cases.

“Until Friday (Oct 9), a total of 357 close contacts have been identified and all of them have tested negative for Covid-19. However, this cluster still remains under observation and is expected to be over on Oct 28, ” he said here on Saturday (Oct 10).

The index cases for the cluster are a husband and wife who travelled to Semporna, Sabah, from Sept 13 to 18.

A female secondary school teacher is among the 15 positive cases after coming in close contact linked to the Bakawali cluster.

Vidyananthan reminded schools in the state to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the National Security Council (NSC) to ensure risk of Covid-19 being spread within its premises remains low.

“If this situation happens, investigation and control action will be taken immediately by the Health Department.

“Contact screening as well as Covid-19 test will be carried out on individuals found to have close contact and would be given order to self-quarantine at home for 14 days, ” he said.

The Kahang assemblyman added that other actions such as disinfection as well as closing classrooms or an area involved would also be done to ensure there would be no epidemic in schools.

He stressed that the community should not worry on students’ safety as Covid-19 cases involving schools were quite low in Johor following efforts and early action taken by the schools and other departments involved.

Vidyananthan also advised parents to always cooperate with schools and the Health Department and adhere to all of SOP rules including quarantine order to curb the spread of Covid-19 in schools or their homes.

“Everyone must stay calm and not create any panic within the public by spreading false information. Let the various departments involved do their jobs without any problem so they can carry their duties more effectively, ” he added.