KUCHING, Oct 17 — Sarawak recorded four new locally transmitted positive Covid-19 cases in Kuching district today, bringing the total number of positive cases in the state to 763, said the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).

It said these cases were close contacts to a positive Covid-19 case and were detected through the second screening on the tenth day when these contacts were instructed to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

“The index case for these cases is Case 719, a citizen who had a history of travelling to a high-risk Covid-19 infection area namely Sabah before being screened and was found positive for Covid-19 on October 6,” it said in a statement.

The committee gave a summary of the four cases in which Case 760 involved a local man; Case 761 and 763 involved two local boys and Case 762 involved a local woman.

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“The exposure time for these cases is between October 2 to 6 when Case 719 was undergoing his quarantine at home.

“The first RT-PCR test was conducted on October 6 and all four cases were found to be negative of Covid-19 on October 8. They were then admitted to a quarantine centre to undergo the remaining 14-day quarantine order where it was found that three new cases were detected during the first screening on October 8.

“These cases were screened a second time on October 16 and their RT-PCR test results turned up positive today,” it said, adding that all four cases are asymptomatic and have been admitted to Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for further treatment.

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In addition, it also noted that cases under the Bah Arnab Cluster, which is one of two active clusters in Sarawak, has now increased following the four new detected cases reported today.

“A total of 36 individuals have been screened where eight cases were found positive of Covid-19. Four of these cases were detected through the second screening on day ten of the quarantine,” it said, adding that the remaining 28 individuals tested negative.

It also said the Putra Cluster in Bintulu remains active in the state with six positive cases reported including the index case.

“Up to October 17, a total of 190 individuals have been screened where six cases were found positive, 183 individuals had tested negative and one individual is still waiting for test results,” it said.

On a positive note, SDMC said four Covid-19 patients had recovered and were allowed to be discharged from SGH today.

“This brings the total number of recoveries in the state to 700 or 91.74 per cent out of the overall cases,” it said.

It added that there are 44 patients currently being treated at hospitals throughout the state of which 27 are treated at SGH, eight at Miri Hospital, seven at Bintulu Hospital and two at Sibu Hospital.

On the number of persons under investigation (PUI), the committee said seven new cases were recorded today with one case pending lab test result.

Since the first positive Covid-19 case was reported on March 13, the state has recorded a total of 19 deaths.

Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Lubok Antu districts remain as yellow zones in state with 36 other districts classified as green zones. — Borneo Post