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KOTA KINABALU – Sabah today broke the 2,000-case threshold when it registered 2,069 new Covid-19 infections, an increase of 469 from yesterday’s 1,600.
Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said in a statement that the R-naught (infectivity rate) for the state is at 1.54, higher than the national rate of 1.32.
“This will make Sabah’s Covid-19 cases increase faster than other states in Malaysia.”
He said Sabah recorded yet another education cluster, involving a secondary school SMK Kota Marudu II in Kota Marudu.
The Jalan Kebulian cluster, which started from a Form 5 student living at a school hostel, now has 16 cases, including seven new ones today.
Two Covid-19-related deaths were also recorded in Beaufort and Keningau.
The surge in Sabah’s Covid-19 cases started two weeks ago when new infections went up from 100 to 300 within a week.
In the past week, new cases in the state had increased by four times with 490 recorded last Tuesday and 2,069 cases registered today.
In eight days, from February 1 to 8, Sabah had 8,480 new Covid-19 cases.
Social media users alleged overcrowding at several events, which increased during the Chinese New Year celebration, contributing to the spike in cases.
The compounds issued by the enforcement agencies in Sabah showed that there have been over 40 premises that had violated the standard operating procedures (SOPs) by operating beyond the allowed hours.
A total of 43 people have also been issued with compounds for not practising safe social distancing in entertainment outlets on Chinese New Year’s eve, which showed that people may have gathered and neglected SOPs during gatherings and celebrations.
Masidi, in his previous statement, said there is a possibility that the Omicron variant is in the community, given Sabah’s sudden surge in Covid-19 cases.
Sabah’s hospital bed capacity for Covid-19 patients is at 42.88% today. – The Vibes, February 8, 2022