47 pct of Sabah Covid-19 patients get virus from asymptomatic cases

CORONAVIRUS | About 47 percent of Covid-19 patients in Sabah have close contact with asymptomatic cases during the early stage of infection, said Sabah health director Dr Christina Rundi.

She said these cases, aged one to 72, had no chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension.

“Apart from the 315 positive cases reported in Sabah thus far, 60 of them are sporadic cases detected via screening carried out against those who have just returned to Sabah or through domestic-targeted screening.

“About 12 percent of Covid-19 positive cases in Sabah are students,” she said in a statement today.

In this regard, Christina said all returning students to Sabah have to undergo quarantine before they were allowed to return to their families, in efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Christina said she was aware of grouses voiced by parents over the government’s decision to quarantine their children who returned to Sabah from their respective campuses.

“However, the most vulnerable groups are children, senior citizens, pregnant women and those with chronic illnesses due to poor immune systems and these groups are very different from the campus community which are mostly composed of young people with strong immune systems,” she said.

- Bernama