PUTRAJAYA: A new strain of the Covid-19 virus could have caused the spread of infections in the Mengketil cluster involving Kelantan and Terengganu, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
He said a mutation of the virus could have caused the cluster to be highly contagious. This had led to the decision to impose a lockdown in Kelantan.
“In a short time, within five days, the virus has spread quickly across other districts, and even to Terengganu,” he said.
The Mengketil cluster began with an index case on Nov 13 and has recorded 45 infections so far, with three new cases today.
Noor Hisham said the strain in this cluster has just been identified, “so we have not sent it to the lab for analysis. That might take two to three weeks”.
It was initially detected in the Machang district, but has since spread to Kota Bharu, Tanah Merah, Pasir Mas and Kuala Krai in Kelantan, as well as Besut in Terengganu.
The spread of infections was caused by travellers to Kelantan who brought the virus from red zones such as the Klang Valley and Negeri Sembilan.
He urged all Kelantan residents to stay at home whenever possible and to comply with procedures for the next two weeks so that the state can return to the relaxed restrictions of the recovery MCO.
On the Bah Bercham cluster in Kinta, Perak, Noor Hisham said the index case had first tested negative during a screening at KLIA after returning from Sabah.
However, the person failed to register at the counter issuing home surveillance orders and skipped the mandatory quarantine.
“There might have been some issues in terms of implementation,” he said, as the person had left the airport without being issued the pink wristband. “We only detected the case after the individual showed symptoms.”
He said the health ministry was looking at tightening screening procedures at airports to ensure all those who tested negative after returning from Sabah underwent quarantine for 14 days. - FMT
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