Kota Kinabalu: Another cluster involving an academic institution was detected in Sabah, the third in less than a week, this time involving students from a boarding school in Sandakan.
Two earlier educational clusters were Puri Ranau Cluster (14 cases on Jan. 18) and Jalan Kepayan Lama Tambunan Cluster (70 cases on Jan. 16).
The reported clusters of educational facilities over a short period have generated questions about whether there is cause for concern. Sabah’s Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun responded, saying “With opening of many sectors this sort of thing is bound to happen”.
“The issue is more about better management risk through strict compliance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). But again the index case could have been infected outside the school,” he said. According to Masidi, the latest, Jalan Pertukangan Cluster, was reported at SMK Sandakan hostel in Jalan Pertukangan, Pantai Elopura.
Since Jan 16, a 16-year-old male student has been experiencing fever, cough, and flu symptoms. On the same day, the adolescent tested positive for Covid-19, and he was quarantined and given additional treatment.
A total of 72 positive Covid-19 instances were discovered during screening of 117 kids, bringing the total to 73 cases, all of which are mild (Category One and Two).
As a result of the new cluster, Sabah’s daily Covid-19 instances increased by 41 cases to 242 cases on Wednesday, up from 201 cases on Tuesday.
Six districts had double-digit cases, with Sandakan leading the way with 74 cases, followed by Kota Kinabalu (33 cases), and Tuaran (16 cases) (23 cases). Six districts did not report any new cases, while 15 districts had single-digit cases.
Two districts recorded a double -digit increase, namely Sandakan up by 60 cases and Kota Belud up by 11 cases, while only one district showed a double -digit decrease, namely Tuaran down by 14 cases. A total of eight districts remain as recorded yesterday.
Masidi noted that out of the 242 new cases on Wednesday, a total of 238 cases are in Category One and Two, while three cases are in Category Three. No case were reported in Category Four, while only one patient is in Category Five.
Meanwhile, 230 Covid-19 patients were discharged, while 405 remained hospitalised, 312 are detained at low-risk quarantine centres and seven at temporary detention centres/prisons.
Twenty-eight patients are under Intensive Care, while seven require ventilated aid. A total of 22 patients under Stage Four and Five have yet to complete their vaccination doses.
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