KOTA KINABALU: A female clerk who attended a funeral ceremony sparked a new cluster dubbed the Tangkuyan cluster, contributing to the drastic increase of Covid-19 cases in the Kinabatangan district.
Sabah Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said Kinabatangan recorded 152 cases today compared to 15 cases yesterday as a result of screenings among residents under the Tangkuyan cluster.
"The woman who works at an oil palm plantation in Beluran was confirmed positive during a workplace screening on Aug 9.
"She was referred to the Kinabatangan Hospital for treatment. Based on investigation, the woman had a history of attending a family member's funeral ceremony in Kg Tangkuyan, Kuamut.
"Through contact investigation, a total of 128 people involving her family, social and dependent contacts were found positive.
"To date, this cluster has recorded 129 positive cases. The investigation, Covid-19 sampling, and disinfection are still ongoing to assess the possible risk of infection spreading to nearby villages," he said in a statement.
Masidi added another two new clusters detected in the state were the Paka Kawiyan cluster (Ranau) and Segama Batu Satu cluster (Lahad Datu).
The Paka Kawiyan cluster stemmed from a 32-year-old woman who did not comply with a quarantine order.
"The woman who was tested positive on the 10th day of inter-state screening had interacted with villagers in a rubber plantation while she was trying to get internet access.
"Out of 132 close contacts screened, 41 were positive," he said adding other samples were still awaiting results.
The Segama Batu Satu cluster is a workplace-type cluster involving a tyre company and recorded 19 cases.
"The index case was a 40-year-old foreigner who tested positive at a private clinic on Aug 12.
"The cause of the infection is still under investigation, however, the risk of infection is quite high due to crowded 'rumah kongsi' and social activities among the workers every evening.
"Of the 39 contacts screened, 18 individuals were positive while 21 were negative. All positive patients in this cluster were referred to the Lahad Datu Hospital for further treatment and isolation at the Covid-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centre (PKRC) in Lahad Datu," he said.
Today, Sabah recorded 1,665 new Covid-19 infections, with close contact screenings contributing 915 cases or 54.95 per cent of the total.
Masidi said the daily caseload had decreased by 87 due to a significant reduction of cases in the state capital.
However, he said the downward trend would not stay constant because new infections would cause the daily cases to fluctuate.
Masidi said 386 of the new patients (24.2 per cent) were in Category 1, 751 (45.1 per cent) in Category 2, eight in Category 3, two in Category 4 and one in Category 5, while the remaining 517 patients (31 per cent) were still under investigation.
As of yesterday, Masidi said 45.4 per cent of the adult population in Sabah have received their first dose of the vaccine and 21.7 per cent have completed both doses.
"The percentage of fully vaccinated recipients is expected to increase next week when more people take their second dose of the vaccine."
Sabah also recorded nine fatalities – in Kota Kinabalu (three), Tawau (three), Papar (two), and one in Lahad Datu.