Kota Kinabalu: Another three education clusters were identified in the State on Thursday, which makes a total of 10 education clusters recorded in Sabah in the span of 12 days.
Sabah’s Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said, however, all cases in the three clusters were in category one and two which are mild and do not require hospital treatment.
The three clusters are Jalan Terusan Cluster in Lahad Datu, Jalan Kiulu Cluster in Tuaran and Puri Seberang Keningau Cluster in Keningau.
Masidi said the Jalan Terusan Cluster involved students at the SMK Terusan hostel, which was sparked by a 13-year-old male form one student who experienced symptoms since Jan 20 and tested positive on Jan 33.
“Contact screenings on classmates and hostel mates brought the cumulative total of cases in this cluster to 10 so far,” he said.
The Jalan Kiulu Cluster involved students at SMK Tun Fuad, Kiulu, stemming from a 14-year-old male student who was tested positive with a PCR test on Jan 18, after experiencing symptoms on Jan 17.
“Close contact and symptomatic screenings on 150 individuals found another 14 positive, bringing the tally in this cluster to 15,” said Masidi.
He said the source of infection is being investigated, adding transmissions were likely caused by mingling activities by the students within the hostel.
The Puri Seberang Keningau Cluster involved hostel students at SMK Keningau 1, sparked by an 18-year-old female form five student who experienced symptoms since Jan 20.
“The school was informed about the case on Jan 26, and students with similar symptoms were directed to conduct self-tests. 18 more positive cases were found, bringing the tally in this cluster to 19 so far,” said Masidi.
Meanwhile, Sabah’s cases remain above the 300 mark with 342 cases on Thursday, while no deaths were recorded.
“A total of 38 cases, or 11.1 per cent of the caseload, were contributed by cluster screenings. The 38 cases were from seven active clusters, of which three were new clusters,” said Masidi.
He added that 162 cases were close contacts, while 106 were sporadic infections.
On the caseload, Masidi said Kota Kinabalu topped the list with 60 cases, followed by Sandakan (40), Kota Marudu (34), Beaufort (34), Tuaran (33), Putatan (24), Penampang (19) and Tawau (19).
“The high number of new infections in each district is quite concerning. Overall, 11 districts recorded double-digit cases, 10 districts recorded single digit figures while another six districts did not record any new cases,” said Masidi.
He said 336 out of 342 cases were category one and two infections that do not require hospital treatment, while two cases are in category three and four in category four. There are no new category five infections.
Some 136 Covid-19 patients have been discharged from the hospital while 748 patients are currently receiving treatment at hospitals, low risk quarantine and treatment centres (PKRCs), prisons/temporary detention centres and private facilities.
On Sabah’s immunisation programme, Masidi said 6,457 individuals were vaccinated on Jan 26, of which 6,376 were adults and 81 were teenagers.
He said as of Jan 26, a total of 2,409,832 individuals have completed both doses, of which 76.03 per cent adults, while 2,453,926 have gotten their first dose, of which 76.74 per cent were adults.
Masidi added that a total of 337,222 teenagers have received their first dose, while 312,741 have completed both doses, which is 72.04 of the teenage population.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
