KUCHING: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has announced that in view of the increasing positive cases in the Sentosa Cluster, the Sarawak Health Department (JKNS) will expand random testing around Kota Sentosa area.
At the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) Covid-19 daily update press conference yesterday (July 24), JKNS director Dr Chin Zin Hing confirmed that the Sentosa Cluster involved Sentosa Hospital.
Uggah, who is also SDMC chairman, said that m the public would be prevented from visiting Sentosa Hospital.
“However, there are patients there that we have to take care of and all precautions are being taken,” he said.
He assured that all personnel at the hospital were being tested and no visitors were allowed.
“The doctors and nurses are not allowed to go home; they have to stay in the hospital and be quarantined there,” he said.
According to Dr Chin, the cases in the Sentosa Cluster were most likely infected through the community and not from handling patients in the hospital as proper standard operating procedures (SOPs) were followed.
Uggah said Kuching had not been re-categorised as a red zone yet as the number of local positive cases was 38, while 40 was the limit at which a district would be classified as a red zone.
When asked by reporters if non-essential businesses would be instructed to close if Kuching was declared a red zone, he said that the committee was already looking at various possible scenarios but had not made a decision on the matter yet.
“We will deal with that if we reach the situation, but we pray that it will not happen,” he said.
In response to a question on the numerous cases of Sarawakians returning from overseas and testing negative in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) but later tested positive in Sarawak, he said that that RTK Antigen tests were used in KLIA while PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests were used here.
“We have raised the matter with KL and yesterday during our meeting they indicated that they are not going to do the same tests on arrival,” he said.
On another matter, Uggah said that measures had been taken to sanitise the Election Commission’s office here as one of its staff members was found to be Covid-19 positive recently.
He said that as per previous practice, the whole building would not be closed as the sanitisation procedure would suffice and close contacts would be quarantined.
“There is a SOP. In situations where the cases are very rampant, it can go to the extent of having to sanitise the whole building,” he said.
