A total of 500 cases or 64.77 per cent of the new cases were detected in Kuching, Miri, Sibu, Bintulu dan Subis. – Bernama file photo
KUCHING (May 27): Sarawak today recorded nine more Covid-19 fatalities, as new cases shot up to 772, said State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
At a press conference, he said this brought the total death toll in the state to 272 and the cumulative number of cases to 44,738.
The number of deaths today is the highest recorded in Sarawak in a single day, and the new infections is the second highest single-day tally since the Jalan Puncak Borneo Cluster was declared on April 13 at 772 cases.
Sibu reported five deaths followed by Miri with two deaths as well as Bintulu and Kapit, one death each.
A total of 500 cases or 64.77 per cent of the new cases were detected in Kuching, Miri, Sibu, Bintulu dan Subis.
Kuching reported the highest number of cases with 229 followed by Miri having 82 cases, Sibu (70), Bintulu (67), Subis (52), Mukah (33), Beluru (25), Sri Aman (23), Serian (18), Kanowit (17), Betong (16), Kabong (15), Pakan (15), Selangau (14), Asajaya (13), Tatau (12), Bukit Mabong (11), Kapit (9), Tanjung Manis (8), Bau (8),
Samarahan (7), Belaga (6), Dalat (4), Sarikei (4), Daro (3), Lawas (2), Lundu (2), Saratok (2), Meradong (2), Sebauh (1), Song (1) and Matu (1).
On the fatalities, the 264th death involved a 45-year-old man who was treated at the Bintulu Hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties.
The case had symptoms such as cough, diarrhoea and loss of appetite for a week. His swab test result came back positive for Covid-19 on May 15.
His health conditions deteriorated and he passed away on May 22. The case had hypertension and diabetes.
The 265th fatality involved a 72-year-old man who was found unconscious at home and was pronounced dead by the paramedic on May 23.
The case had breathing difficulties and his death is being looked into by the Sibu Hospital forensic team. The case was tested positive on May 23 and had hypertension and diabetes.
The 266th fatality involved a 32-year-old man who passed out at home and was sent to the Miri Hospital immediately.
The paramedics were not successful in resuscitating the case who showed no vital signs and was pronounced dead on May 24.
The case had breathing difficulties before losing consciousness. His swab test result came back positive for the virus on May 24. The case had bronchial asthma.
The 267th fatality involved a 72-year-old man who was treated at the Sibu Hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties.
The case had cough, fever, vomitting and loss of appetite for two days. His swab test on May 8 was positive for Covid-19.
His health conditions deteriorated and he passed away on May 24. The case had diabetes, hypertension, gout and heart disease.
The 268th fatality involved a 62-year-old woman who was treated at the Miri Hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties for a week.
Her swab test result came back positive for Covi-19 on May 25. Her health conditions deteriorated and she passed away on May 25. The case had heart disease.
The 269th fatality involved a 66-year-old man who was treated at the Kapit Hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties. The case was tested positive on May 18.
He was referred to the Sibu Hospital for further treatment, but his health conditions deteriorated and he passed away on May 25. The case had heart disease and dyslipidemia.
The 270th fatality involved an 81-year-old woman who was treated at Sibu Hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties for two days.
She was tested positive for Covid-19 on May 22. Her health conditions deteriorated and she passed away on May 25. The case had comorbidities such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease.
The 271st fatality involved a 91-year-old woman who was treated at the Sibu Hospital after being tested positive on May 12 through close contact tracing.
Her health conditions deteriorated and she passed away on May 25. The case did not have comorbidities but she needed help in her daily life.
The 272nd fatality involved a 61-year-old woman who was referred to the Sibu Hospital by a health clinic after running a high fever.
The case had symptoms such as cough, vomitting, breathing difficulties and headache for two days. She was tested positive on May 15.
Her health conditions deteriorated and she passed away on May 27. The case had hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and was obese.
Uggah said the nine deaths today was the highest daily fatalities.
“In March, Sarawak recorded a total of 29 deaths with an average of one death per day. In April, Sarawak recorded 69 deaths with an average of two deaths per day.
“Up to May 27, Sarawak had 91 deaths with an average of three deaths per day. The rising number of cases has been marked since the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive visits with a total of 3,272 cases, an average of 467 cases daily reported from May 9 to May 15.
“The Covid-19 cases in Sarawak have gone up from a daily average of 467 cases to 520 cases, and as of May 27, a total of 3,118 cases with an average of 623 cases per day were reported,” he said.
Uggah said such increasing pandemic trend was posing challenges to not just frontliners across Sarawak but also the state’s limited healthcare facilities.
He said the intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Sarawak were already at a critical level whereby 81 Covid-19 cases remained treated at the ICU wards and this included 31 cases in need of ventilators.
He added that a total of 714 longhouses had been put under the Enhanced Movement control Order (EMCO) this year, of which, 98 of them are still on such lockdown.