KUCHING: Sarawak reported two new Covid-19 deaths on Monday (Jan 18), taking the state's fatalities to 21 since the pandemic started.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said one of the fatalities was a 42-year-old Sarawakian man who was admitted to Miri Hospital on Jan 13 and died the following day.
His swab test taken on Jan 14 returned positive for Covid-19 on Jan 16.
The other death was a 55-year-old Sarawakian man who tested positive on Jan 15 and was admitted to Sibu Hospital on the same day.
"The man, who came from Kanowit, was a close contact in the Pasai cluster and was screened on Jan 12.
"He had high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease. He died at 1.41am this morning," Uggah said at the state disaster management committee's Covid-19 briefing here on Monday (Jan 18).
He said the state also recorded 100 new cases on Monday, with Sibu having the most at 37, followed by Beluru (27), Betong (seven), Miri (seven), Kuching (six), Bintulu (four), Selangau (four), Sri Aman (three), Lubok Antu (three), Sarikei (one) and Kanowit (one).
This brings the state's tally of confirmed cases to 2,211.
With another triple-digit increase in cases, Uggah appealed to the public to be vigilant and comply with standard operating procedures (SOP) in order to flatten the Covid-19 curve.
He noted that from Nov 25 to Jan 7, most of Sarawak's 40 districts were green zones with only a few yellow zones.
"But in only 10 days from Jan 8 until now, the number of cases in Sarawak is on the rise and only 19 districts are still green.
"If previously we managed to flatten the spread of Covid-19, there is no reason why we can't do it again but in the last 10 days, we seem to have lost sight of the danger.
"We are not too late, we still have time to fight the disease, but once again, I emphasise that we all must cooperate," he said.
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