KUCHING: The state Health Department has declared a new Covid-19 cluster named the Begalak Cluster in Song District, Kapit.
Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said the new cluster is a workplace cluster that was detected in a logging camp area in the Sungai Begalak area, Song.
The committee said as of Mar 14, the cumulative number of positive cases involving the cluster including the index case was 49 cases.
SDMC said the index case for the Begalak Cluster is Case 11,650 — a 57-year-old man who is an employee at a logging company who was detected through screening on symptomatic cases on Mar 10 at the Song Health Clinic.
The index case is likely to have gotten the infection from the community while in the vicinity of Song Town as he had no history of traveling out to other districts since Dec 28 last year.
SDMC said as a result of further investigation and after conducting active case detection (ACD) among the close contacts to the index case, an additional 48 new cases were tested positive for Covid-19 including 21 cases reported on Mar 14.
A total of 335 individuals were screened with 49 cases including the index case tested positive, 222 tested negative, while 64 people are still awaiting laboratory results.
Three of the positive cases were referred to Sibu Hospital while the other 46 cases were admitted to Covid-19 Low Risk Quarantine and Treatment Centre (PKRC) Kapit under the Kapit Hospital for isolation and further treatment.
With the additional new cluster, there are now 29 active clusters in the state.
