TAWAU, Jan 23 — Delayed test results and mass Covid-19 screening programmes are the main factors that led Tawau to record the highest daily new cases in Sabah for five consecutive days, with 24 cases reported yesterday.
Tawau health officer Dr G. Navindran said they had received over 800 delayed test results since the past week, whereby the samples had been sent to laboratories outside the district to be processed.
He said the mass screening conducted by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) on farm and factory workers, including in Kalabakan, for the last two weeks also contributed to the increased cases.
“The workers were screened by Socso’s panel clinics while the Tawau Health Office screened the close contacts of those who tested positive for Covid-19,” he told reporters at the Tawau Health Clinic here, today.
Dr Navindran said the farm managements here were advised to provide a quarantine centre, ambulance and other health facilities in the effort to contain Covid-19 transmission, especially among their workers.
He said the facilities were important as the farms were located more than 100 km from Tawau town and also difficult to reach.
“We will assist them, especially in teaching their medical assistants to conduct early detection for Covid-19,” he said. — Bernama
