Targeted screenings in S’kan to curb Covid-19

SANDAKAN: The Sandakan State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has identified several areas that may have contributed to the number of daily new Covid-19 cases in the district, said its Deputy Chairman ACP Mohd Azhar Hamin.

He said the Health Ministry and other related government departments and agencies would be carrying out targeted screenings in these places to further curb the spread of Covid-19.

“The Health Ministry is continuously carrying out studies to determine which areas are likely to impact daily Civud-19 numbers in Sandakan.

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“If we find there are areas that are likely to contribute to the numbers, we will carry out public screenings there,” he told reporters after monitoring a public Covid-19 screening at Pulau Berhala, near here, Saturday.

Pulau Berhala was declared a Covid-19 cluster on Dec 6, with cases detected as early as Nov 20.

Mohd Azhar, who is also District Police Chief, said the committee would not be complacent in its efforts to break the chain of infection, despite seeing daily numbers dropping over the past several days.

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He also appealed to Sandakan residents to banish negative thoughts regarding the free public screenings, such as the discomfort when taking a swab test, as they also had an important role to play in breaking the chain of infection.

Sandakan has recorded double-digit daily new cases for the past 11 days, with the last triple-digit figure of 176 reported on Nov 28.

The number of active cases has also dropped to triple digits, with the last four-digit recorded on Dec 2 with 1,052.

As of Friday, Sandakan had 792 active cases, including 49 new cases.