KUCHING, Feb 23 ­— A new Covid-19 cluster has been identified in Betong, dubbed the Jalan Muhibbah Cluster, which has 18 cases as of today, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said.

It said in an update today that the cluster, identified by the Health Department, originated from a private residence at Jalan Muhibbah in the district, which hosted a private social gathering on February 10.

The index case in the cluster, Case 7407, is a 50-year-old man who tested positive for the virus on February 16.

"This index case started to have and show symptoms on February 14, 2021,” the committee said in a statement, adding that the additional cases were detected through contact tracing and screening

So far, 110 people have been tested, 45 were found negative and 47 are still waiting for their results.

The 18 people who tested positive have been warded at Sarikei Hospital and the Sarikei quarantine and treatment centre.

SDMC said that there were 25 Covid-19 active clusters today. — Borneo Post Online