KOTA KINABALU: New Covid-19 infections in Sabah continued to rise to 818 cases on Sunday, which brought the tally to 79,470.
Two deaths were reported in Tawau and Papar.
Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said the number of positive cases in Sabah had increased by 106 cases from 712 cases on Saturday.
Masidi, who is Sabah’s Covid-19 spokesperson, said the main contributor to the new cases were close contact screenings, which comprised 44.5 per cent or 364 cases of the total infections, followed by existing cluster screenings (18 per cent), targeted screenings (12.71 per cent) and symptomatic screenings (12.59 per cent).
He said six new clusters contributed 61 cases or 7.5 per cent of the infections.
Of the 818 cases, he said 167 cases were registered in Kota Kinabalu, followed by Penampang (77), Keningau (69), Beaufort (66), Sipitang (57), Tawau (55), Tuaran (44), Beluran (44), Papar (37), Kunak (26), Telupid (24), Kudat (22), Putatan (20), Kinabatangan (20), Sandakan (16), Lahad Datu (16) and Ranau (15).
Meanwhile, Tongod recorded nine cases, Kalabakan (8), Kota Marudu (7), Kuala Penyu (5), Tenom (5), Semporna (5), Kota Belud (2) and Pitas (1).
He said Telupid was reclassified from yellow to orange zone, while Tongod and Kunak were upgraded from orange to red zone.
Masidi said the continuous rise of Covid-19 cases in Sabah and the 364 cases from close contact screenings showed that there was high probability of non-compliance of the standard operating procedures (SOP).
He stressed that people were required to strictly abide by the movement control order and SOP to curb the spread of virus.
On the new clusters, he said the Jalan Tungku Cluster in Lahad Datu, a community cluster, originated from a 30-year-old woman who tested positive whilst undergoing symptomatic screening at Tungku Health Clinic on June 28. Active tracing and screening of her contacts uncovered another 12 positive cases. Of the 233 samples tested, 35 came back positive, 196 were negative and two pending results. The cluster has 35 cumulative positive cases thus far.
The Gerbang Kauran Cluster in subdistrict of Lingkudau, Keningau is believed to have stemmed from interaction among mosque committee and family members. The index case is a 47-year-old woman who tested positive in Keningau Hospital on July 21. The cluster has registered nine cases to date.
The Tinabau Cluster involved the spread of Covid-19 in an oil palm plantation in Kinabatangan. It started from a plantation’s supervisor, a 49-year-old man, who was found to be positive through workplace screening at Permai Private Clinic in the district on July 19 and later referred to Kinabatangan Hospital.
Close contact screening detected another 25 positive cases among family members, workers and their dependents, which brought the cumulative cases to 26.
The Kg Sogo-Sogo Cluster in Tongod, a community cluster, was detected when the index case, a 32-year-old man, tested positive at Tongod Health Clinic on July 23 after experiencing Covid-19 symptoms five days ago.
Eight new cases were subsequently reported from 46 samples collected from his close contacts, which brought the tally to nine.
The Gipan Kolombong Cluster in Kota Kinabalu and Tuaran was a workplace infection involving a concrete batching premises in the state capital. The index case is a 28-year-old security guard from Kg Cenderakasih Inanam Metrotown who was symptomatic since July 19 and confirmed positive at Queen Elizabeth Hospital two days later.
Of the 67 samples taken in Kota Kinabalu, 37 were positive including 27 new cases on Sunday, whereas 28 were negative and two pending results. The cluster also recorded three cases with epidemiologic link registered in Tuaran. The cumulative cases under the cluster are 40 to date.
The sixth cluster, Simpang Tiga Cluster in Ranau, was categorized as a high-risk group cluster that spread from a medical centre in the district. The index case is a 29-year-old male healthcare staff in the emergency department who tested positive through symptomatic screening on July 18.
Of the 417 close contacts screened, 14 positive cases were detected, including three new infections on Sunday. The numbers included eight cases involving healthcare staff at the workplace, while six cases were their contacts living under the same roof in Kg Lembah Permai and Kg Sokid Bundu Tuhan.
On the other hand, Masidi said 537 Covid-19 patients have recovered or discharged from hospitals.
He said 3,486 patients were still undergoing treatment, including 651 in hospitals, 2,414 in Low-Risk Quarantine and Treatment Centres and 421 in temporary detention centres or prisons.
“There are 71 patients in intensive care units and 19 require ventilators.”