Covid-19: Six new clusters in Sarawak

KUCHING: Six new Covid-19 clusters have been identified in Sarawak, as the state reported 193 new cases and one death on Tuesday (Feb 16).

In a statement, the state disaster management committee said two of the new clusters involved nursing homes at Jalan Geronggang and Sungai Merah in Sibu.

It said the Geronggang cluster was identified following active case detection after a 77-year-old resident of the home tested positive on Feb 10.

"The index case likely contracted the virus from the community while seeking treatment at a medical centre in Sibu.

"Contact tracing and active case detection yielded 40 more cases, including two new cases today," the committee said.

It added that the cluster had recorded one fatality, a 73-year-old resident of the home, but the cause of death had yet to be determined from a post-mortem.

The Mas Merah cluster, meanwhile, stemmed from a worker at a nursing home who tested positive on Feb 13.

Following active case detection among the workers and residents of the home, 10 cases have been detected in this cluster to date.

The committee also said a new cluster of 12 cases was linked to a primary school in Kidurong, Bintulu.

The Kidurong Dua cluster was traced to a 36-year-old student management assistant at the school who developed symptoms and tested positive on Feb 9.

In Samarahan, the Univista cluster was detected after a 33-year-old man with symptoms tested positive on Feb 6.

The cluster, which involves Kampung Muara Tuang, Taman Univista and Taman Samarax, has 45 confirmed cases to date.

Another outbreak was detected at Kampung Sungai Maong in Kuching with 18 confirmed cases so far.

The index case is a 38-year-old security guard at the Sarawak General Hospital who tested positive on Feb 11.

In addition, the Gelong cluster was identified at Taman Sri Gelong in Kapit, stemming from a 47-year-old man who tested positive on Feb 13.

"Initial investigations found that the index case attended his father's funeral on Jan 30-Feb 2, which was also attended by close family members.

"Contact tracing of close contacts and social contacts has yielded 13 more cases," the committee said.

It also said the Keranji Tabuan cluster in Kuching had ended after no new cases were detected within 28 days after the index case was recorded on Jan 7, leaving 21 active clusters in Sarawak.

Of the new cases, the committee said Sibu recorded the highest number with 105, followed by Samarahan (19), Kuching and Kapit (17 each), Bintulu (12), Beluru (seven), Julau (six), Song and Dalat (three each) and Miri and Bau (two each), making it a total of 7,025 cases in the state.

The committee also said the latest fatality was an 83-year-old woman who passed away at Sibu Hospital on Feb 15 and was linked to the Pasai cluster.

The state's death toll now stands at 62.