Masidi takes aim at 'negligent' Covid-19 SOP compliance in Sabah

 

-NSTP file pic

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah recorded 526 new Covid-19 cases today, 350 of whom comprised fully-vaccinated individuals.

Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said only 106 cases involved unvaccinated people, while 67 cases involved those who were not eligible for the vaccine.

Another three had received one dose of the vaccine.

Masidi said the figures underscored the fact that vaccines do not offer 100 per cent protection from infection and that compliance to the standard operating procedures (SOP) are still necessary."Those who have been fully-vaccinated make up the largest group of new cases every day. Again, vaccines do not give us 100 per cent protection.

"Protection can be complemented with our own attitude of consistently complying with the SOP," he said in a statement today.

Masidi said sporadic cases obtained from symptomatic screening remained high at almost 41 per cent compared to 51.9 per cent for close contact cases.

"This statistic is worrying because it is a reflection of the negligent attitude towards SOP compliance by some people, including vaccinated individuals."

Of the 526 new cases, 515 cases or 98 per cent were in Categories 1 and 2. Three patients were in Category 3, four patients in Category 4 and one patient in Category 5 while three more cases were still under the Health Department's evaluation.

Masidi said as of Nov 22, the infectious rate or R0/Rt for Malaysia is 1.0 but for Sabah, the rate has risen to 1.01.

"Our attitude is a key determinant to our success against Covid-19 infection," he said.

Sabah also registered seven Covid-19 fatalities – two in Keningau and Papar and one each in Beaufort, Kota Kinabalu and Tawau. - NST