KOTA KINABALU (Sept 28): New Covid-19 cases dropped to 965 in Sabah but the number of deaths is still high with 38 cases reported on Tuesday.
Nine of the fatalities were in Tawau, Kota Kinabalu (4), Putatan (4), Sandakan (3), Kunak (3), Lahad Datu (2), Kota Marudu (2), Beaufort (2), Semporna (1), Keningau (1), Papar (1), Kota Belud (1), Tuaran (1), Penampang (1), Kudat (1), Ranau (1) and Tenom.
Nineteen of the new patients were under severe or critical Category 3, 4 and 5, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun disclosed in a statement on Tuesday.
He said 30-day data shows that Sabah is experiencing a downward trend of cases even though the daily record is not static.
“It is difficult to anticipate or predict whether the next day there will be an increase or decrease in cases. This is because the biggest variable that influences the number of cases depending on the community compliance with the SOPs that have been outlined,” he said.
Masidi also said that the percentage of positive cases through symptomatic screening is very high in some districts, among them in Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Tawau, Kota Belud and Kota Marudu.
These sporadic cases are often associated with failure to comply with SOPs. According to preliminary forecasts, cases in Sabah are likely to rise again when the results of screening on those with symptoms are known.
Of the 965 cases registered, including eight detainees, 225 were backlog cases.