KUCHING: Sarawak has recorded 13 new Covid-19 positive cases on Tuesday (Jan 5), with five each in Kuching and Miri, two in Bintulu and one in Miri.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said this brought the total number of cases in the state to 1,161.
He said there were three local transmission cases, with two in Kuching and one in Miri, while three import cases were recorded in Kuching, four in Miri, two in Bintulu and one in Pusa.
“Case 1,150 involved a local man who had just returned from Johor Bharu via Kuching International Airport (KIA). He went for Covid-19 screening upon arriving in the city on Jan 2.
“The case was instructed to undergo mandatory quarantine at a quarantine centre. When he went for the RT-PCR test, he was found positive,” Uggah told a press conference on the daily Covid-19 update on Tuesday (Jan 5).
He said Case 1,151 involved a young boy returning to Sarawak. He arrived at KIA with his family members on Jan 2 and his test result came back positive on Jan 4.
“Both Cases 1,150 and 1,151 showed no signs and symptoms and were admitted to Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for further treatment. These cases were classified as imported cases,” he said.
Uggah added Case 1,152 involved an Indonesian woman who went for Covid-19 screening before being accepted for work. The woman, who was asymptomatic, took the swab test on Jan 4 at a private hospital in the city and tested positive on the same day.
“Investigation found that the case did not have any record of entry into Sarawak. She also had dubious travel documents,” he said, adding that the case had been admitted to SGH for further treatment and the case had been classified as an imported case.
On Case 1,153, Uggah said it involved a local man who was detected through contact tracing. He was likely to have close contact with previously reported cases involving the Stutong Cluster.
“The case was screened on Jan 3 and the test result was found positive the next day. He was an indirect social contact of Case 1,118 and had shown no signs and symptoms of the virus,” he said, adding that the case had been admitted to SGH for further treatment.
The case had been classified as local transmission.
He went on to reveal that Case 1,158 involved a local woman who underwent screening at a private hospital in the city on Jan 4. The woman was screened because she had headache and sore throat since Dec 29.
Even though she had received treatment at a private clinic, her condition worsened on Jan 1. She lost her sense of smell and a swab test on Jan 4 found that she tested positive for Covid-19 on the same day.
Uggah said the case had no contact with any positive cases and had no history of travelling abroad or to any high risk areas in the country. The case has been classified as local transmission.
On the cases in Miri, Uggah said Case 1,149 involved a local woman who was screened on Jan 3 after having close contact with Case 1,116, and the test result was found positive the next day.
“The case did not experience any signs or symptoms of the virus and was admitted to Miri Hospital for further treatment. This case was classified as a local transmission case because she got infection from the index case — Case 1,116,” he said.
On Case 1,154, Uggah said it involved a local man who returned to Miri on Dec 25 after completing his duties in Semporna, Sabah and was sent to a quarantine hotel in Miri for the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
“Before returning to Miri, the case underwent Covid-19 screening using RTK Antigen and was found negative for the virus. The case was also screened after entering Miri on Dec 27 and the RT-PCR test was negative,” he said, adding that the case was classified as an imported case.
Uggah said when the second test was done on Jan 2, the result came back positive on Jan 4. The case did not show any signs and symptoms of the virus and has been admitted to Miri Hospital for future treatment.
“Meanwhile, Cases 1,155, 1,156 and 1,157 involved local men, aged between 24 and 52, who were screened after returning from Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang,” he said, adding that they came to Sarawak for business purposes.
He said the cases had entered Sarawak via Miri Airport from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA-2) on Dec 31 and were instructed to undergo quarantine at home. They were quarantined at a rented house in Taman Jelita, Miri.
“Covid-19 screenings were done on Jan 2 and the cases were found positive on Jan 4. All of them did not experience any signs and symptoms of the virus and had been admitted to Miri Hospital for treatment,” he said, adding that the cases had been classified as imported cases.
On the Bintulu case, Uggah said Case 1,159 involved a local woman who entered Sarawak via Bintulu Airport from KLIA 2 and arrived in the state on Jan 3.
“The case underwent a swab test on Jan 3 and was found positive. She did not experience any signs and symptoms of the virus. The case was classified as an imported case and had been admitted to Bintulu Hospital for future treatment,” he said.
He said Case 1,160 involved a local who travelled to Selangor on Dec 31 and returned to Bintulu via Bintulu Airport from KLIA on Jan 3. He tested positive the next day.
“The case is asymptomatic and was admitted to Bintulu Hospital for further treatment. The case is classified as an imported case,” he said.
On the Pusa caseUggah said Case 1,161 involved a young boy who returned to Pusa, Betong with six other family members from Johor via Senai International Airport to Sibu Airport on Dec 26.
“On arrival at Sibu Airport, the boy and his family members were instructed to undergo 14-day mandatory quarantine at home and were given the quarantine tags. He and his family members were fetched by other family members from Sibu Airport and sent to Pusa in their own vehicle,” he said.
Uggah said the result of a swab test on Dec 26 came out negative for Covid-19 on Dec 27. However, the second test on Jan 2 was positive.
“The case did not show any sign and symptoms of the virus and was admitted to Sibu Hospital for further treatment,” he said, adding that the case was classified as an imported case.
Also present at the press conference today were Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian and Sarawak Health Director Dr Chin Zin Hing.
