KOTA KINABALU: Oil and gas workers are among 535 individuals infected with Covid-19 in Sabah today, State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said.
He told a press conference there were 28 positive cases from the oil and gas industry here, in which test results for 26 other individuals have yet to come in.
Masidi was commenting on claims there was a new cluster in the industry, of which he denied.
However, Masidi said there were three new clusters detected in the state today; the Basung Cluster with 26 cases involving fishmongers in Kudat; the Inai Cluster with 13 cases involving a henna ceremony during a Malay wedding in Kudat and the Tempayan Cluster, with 19 cases involving workers and customers of a Penampang restaurant.
Masidi, who is the state finance minister II, also explained the surge in positive cases in Lahad Datu, at 115 today, was due to the test results of backlogged samples.
Although cases for Kota Kinabalu saw a drop at 90 today, he said there was a high probability that the cases would increase dramatically in days to come based on Covid-19 tests carried out on inmates at the Kepayan Prison, which is currently under total lockdown.
The prison holds 2,700 inmates.
"Based on initial reports, almost 60 per cent of the tests conducted on inmates are positive. If the percentage is high, then there will be a spike (of Covid-19 cases in Kota Kinabalu)," he said.
On claims that the state health department was lacking ambulances to transport Covid-19 patients for isolation, Masidi said the authorities would find a way to resolve the matter if it was true.
During the press conference, Masidi also listened to suggestions and answered questions raised by business operators who had voiced out their queries to the media.
Among the questions raised were on guidelines for swab tests and whether Sabah's public and private healthcare providers had sufficient logistics and manpower to do so.
Masidi said everyone, especially those in direct contact with people, should take the initiative to get themselves checked even if they did not show any symptoms.
He also said the medical frontliners had been working within their maximum capacity and the health ministry had been roping in volunteers to help handle the workload.
To a suggestion on deploying health teams to take swab samples directly at workplaces, Masidi said it would be forwarded to the relevant authority.
As of today, 66,164 food baskets had been distributed to 15 districts; Lahad Datu, Semporna, Tawau, Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, Putatan Papar, Tuaran, Kalabakan, Ranau, Tambunan, Kota Belud, and Beaufort.