Virus outbreak at Sabah hospital ward

 

The index case for the outbreak at the hospital ward involved a 74-year-old man who tested positive after a GeneXpert PCR screening. (Facebook pic)

KOTA KINABALU: A Covid-19 cluster was detected at the men’s ward in a government hospital in Sabah’s east coast Sandakan district, which has left at least 13 people infected.

State Covid-19 spokesman Masidi Manjun said the Jalan Utara Dua cluster has been classified as a treatment centre cluster where two hospital staff were also infected.

Masidi said the index case involved a 74-year-old man who tested positive after a GeneXpert PCR screening.

He added the man was screened prior to having an X-ray scan on his chest.

“The subsequent testing found 11 positive cases involving the two hospital staff and nine other patients,” he said, in his daily Covid-19 statement.

“Two other cases involved a detainee officer and a housemate who was a close contact, bringing the total number of cases to 13.”

Masidi said 28 other patients at the ward tested negative while 18 healthcare workers are still waiting for their test results.

Meanwhile, the Kampung Mananam cluster in the Tongod interior district that was detected on July 19 was triggered by a 49-year-old security guard working at a primary school.

Masidi said the man, who experienced several symptoms such as headaches, breathing difficulties and loss of smell, was found infected in a symptomatic screening at the district health office.

“The subsequent contact screening found 14 others infected in the village, bringing the cumulative cases from the cluster to 20, including five new infections today,” he said.

Masidi said the daily infections in Sabah has risen today, with 516 cases detected in the last 24 hours, which is 19 more cases compared to yesterday.

Almost half of the cases today are from close contact screenings with 216 cases, followed by screenings at existing clusters with 161 cases.

He said Kota Kinabalu recorded the highest number of cases at 108 while 11 other districts registered two-digit infections.

Twelve other districts recorded single-digit infections, he said, with only three districts namely Semporna, Telupid and Tambunan having no cases.

Sabah also has a total of 93 localities under the enhanced movement control order, he added. - FMT