.jpg "Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah speaks during a press conference in Putrajaya March 27, 2020. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Choo Choy May")
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Another new cluster, known as the Sea Cluster, has been detected among undocumented migrants in Kunak, Sabah.
Health director-general, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cluster’s index case (case 9,859) was a detainee at the Tawau Temporary Detention Centre in Sabah who had been deported to Zamboaga in his country of origin, the Philippines on August 27.
However, he said that on September 5, the individual had sneaked into Sabah from Zamboanga via a ‘rat trail’ to visit his wife.
“The wife (index case, i.e., case 9,860) was tested positive for Covid-19 on September 8 during referral screening from Kunak Hospital to Tawau Hospital for further treatment of postpartum bleeding complications,” he said in a statement on Covid-19 developments, here, today.
Dr Noor Hisham said as a result of active case tracking and close-contact screening, two other Covid-19 positive cases were detected, namely child and neighbour’s index cases (case 9,861 and 9,862).
According to him, 49 individuals have been screened in the cluster and all the screenings involved Philippine nationals.
“Of the total, four cases were detected positive for Covid-19, 14 were negative while another 31 are still waiting for their results.
“Measures to prevent the spread of infection such as disinfection and cleaning have been carried out at the identified locations. The cause of the infection is still under investigation,”’ he added. — Bernama
