Covid-19: Sabah detects 335 new cases, three new clusters on Wednesday (Jan 26)

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah recorded 335 new Covid-19 cases and three new clusters on Wednesday (Jan 26).

These clusters include the state’s sixth education cluster - Jalan Teritipan Cluster in Kota Marudu (44 cases), workplace cluster - Jalan Binunuk, Beaufort - Papar Cluster road (14 cases) and high- risk cluster - Montenior, Beaufort- Kuala Penyu road Cluster with 43 cases.

Minister in charge of Covid-19 matters in Sabah Datuk Masidi Manjun said from the Jalan Teritipan cluster, the case index was a Form Four student from SMK Tandek 2, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Jan 23.

He said the others who later tested positive for the virus were close contacts of the student.

He said the Jalan Teritipan cluster also contributed to Kota Marudu being the district with the highest number of Covid-19 patients with 64 cases statewide.

“Screenings and contact tracings are being conducted for the existing cases and education clusters so more numbers and cases from this category can be expected,” he said.

Masidi said as for the Jalan Binunuk Cluster, the case index involved a 34-year-old employee from the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) who tested positive on Jan 22.

Her family and colleagues had also tested positive for Covid-19 following subsequent contact tracing and screenings, he added.

“She was believed to have contracted the virus following a large-scale meeting in the same facility recently,” he said.

In the third cluster also known as the high-risk cluster, Masidi said a 37-year-old health worker was the first to have been detected with the virus while her colleagues, families and their families later tested positive as well.

All involved in these clusters have been quarantined, isolated, and given the necessary treatment, he said.

He said out of today’s total new cases, 330 were from Categories 1 and 2, while three people were from Category 3 with one each from Categories 4 and 5.