Most Covid-19 cases are ‘sporadic’, infection source unknown

 

Most Covid-19 infections recorded this year are sporadic cases with no known epidemiological link, said Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, meaning the source of the infections could not be determined.

He said such cases account for 170,173 cases this year up to April 25, or 60 percent of confirmed cases in the country.

The states and territories with the highest number of sporadic cases are Selangor (65,215 cases), Kuala Lumpur (19,834), and Johor (17,934).

“We are worried about these sporadic cases. They could spread to schools in situations where we can’t ensure personal safety equipment and good personal hygiene are used,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Covid-19 clusters account for another 36 percent of cases, while the remainder are detected through other means of screening.

Adham said the Health Ministry is working with district officers, menteri besar and chief ministers, and the National Disaster Management Agency to improve community engagement and encourage people to adopt practices that would reduce the spread of the disease.

These include ensuring that people wear face masks, maintain physical distancing and good personal hygiene, and avoiding crowded places and close conversation.

Meanwhile, Adham said the number of Covid-19 clusters involving educational institutions has increased to 22 clusters for the week ending April 24, compared to 12 clusters the week before.

Over the same period, the number of workplace clusters has fallen from 30 clusters to 22, whereas community clusters increased from 18 clusters to 20.

There were three clusters linked to religious activities last week compared to one cluster the week before; and one detention centre cluster last week compared to three the week before.

Overall, the number of active clusters has increased to 352 last week compared to the week before.

The proportion of Covid-19 tests that return positive results has also increased over the same period, from 3.6 pecent to 3.8 percent. The number of tests conducted has increased 20 percent to 65,905 tests per day. - Mkini