36 students infected in Tambunan hostel cluster

17 Jan 2022 • 9:44 AM MYT
Daily Express
Daily Express

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Kota Kinabalu: Another cluster involving an education institute was identified in Tambunan, named the “Jalan Kepayan Lama” cluster which saw some 36 infections among hostel students.

Sabah Covid-19 Spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the index case is an 18-year-old hostel student of SMK Tambunan who experienced symptoms since Jan. 9. He was tested positive on Jan. 13 via self-test screening, which was reconfirmed with an RTK screening at a clinic the next day.

“Covid-19 screenings on close contacts found another 35 students positive. All positive contacts have been segregated for suitable treatment,” he said Sunday.

Sabah’s cases dipped slightly to 213 on Sunday from 265 the day earlier, with 84 per cent comprising those fully vaccinated. No deaths were recorded.

Masidi said 16 received their booster shots while 163 had completed both doses of the vaccine. 22 were ineligible for the vaccine while 12 were unvaccinated.

He said 50 cases were sporadic infections while 110 were close contacts, which indicate a lack of standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance among the community.

On the caseload, Kota Kinabalu topped the list with 47 cases followed by Tambunan (36), Penampang (18), Tuaran (18), Putatan (15), Papar (14), Ranau (11) and Tawau (11).

“Overall, Sabah’s daily caseload improved except for Tambunan which recorded a new cluster. Kota Kinabalu recorded 47 new cases which is a decrease of 23 cases compared to the day earlier, yet remained as the highest daily contributor in Sabah. Tambunan became the second highest contributor due to the Jalan Kepayan Lama Cluster,” he said.

Masidi said 209 out of 213 cases were category one and two infections, while four cases are in category three. There are no category four and five infections.

Some 108 Covid-19 patients have been discharged from the hospital while 761 patients are currently receiving treatment at hospitals, low risk quarantine and treatment centres (PKRCs), prisons/temporary detention centres and private facilities.

Masidi said 32 patients are under critical care with 28 in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)/repurposed critical care and four in the open ward while nine patients needed ventilator support. On Sabah’s immunisation programme, Masidi said 7,426 individuals were vaccinated on Jan 15, of which 7,375 were adults and 51 were teenagers.

“Some 2,452,510 individuals have completed their first dose, of which 76.70 per cent were adults. Some 2,408,124 individuals have completed both doses of the vaccine, of which 75.98 per cent were adults.

He added that 336,904 teenagers have received their first dose, whereas 312,289 teenagers have been fully vaccinated thus far, which is 71.96 per cent of the teenage population.

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