Covid-19: Sarawak records 183 new cases, three deaths and three new clusters

KUCHING: Sarawak reported 183 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday (March 16), as well as three deaths and three new clusters.

The state disaster management committee said the latest fatalities were men aged 69,72 and 84 with comorbidities such as hypertension, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.

All three passed away at Sibu Hospital on March 15, bringing the state's death toll to 94.

Of the new clusters, two are community clusters and one is linked to a workplace.

One of the community clusters, dubbed the Nanga Bulo cluster, has 34 confirmed cases to date from three longhouses in the Julau district.

"The index case is a 55-year-old woman who tested positive on March 8 at Sibu Hospital while receiving emergency treatment for breathing difficulties, cough and fever.

"A total of 160 individuals have been screened, of whom 126 tested negative," the committee said in a statement on Tuesday.

It added that the three longhouses involved have been placed under lockdown until March 25 to curb the spread of the infection.

The other community cluster involves a village at Jalan Kampung Hilir in Sibu, with 35 confirmed cases to date.

The index case of the Kampung Hilir cluster is a 22-year-old woman who tested positive on March 10.

The workplace cluster, named the Jalan Sanyan cluster, involves the staff of a supermarket in Sibu.

"The index case was screened as a contact of an earlier positive case and tested positive on March 4," the committee said, adding that the cluster has 19 confirmed cases to date.

The committee also said the Mas Merah cluster in Sibu was declared to have ended after recording no new cases in the last 28 days.

It said there were 31 active clusters in the state, including 10 which detected new cases.

The committee also said Sibu district reported the highest number of new cases with 73, followed by Miri (22), Bintulu and Kapit (17 each), Julau and Kuching (12 each), Meradong (seven), Betong (six), Samarahan (four), Sarikei and Selangau (three each), Saratok and Sri Aman (two each) and Belaga, Dalat and Tanjung Manis (one each).

This takes the state's tally of confirmed cases to 12,885.