Only mild cases of Covid-19 in Langkawi hotel outbreak

 

The 59 hotel workers and family members have been placed in home quarantine. (Bernama pic)

ALOR SETAR: The workers of a high-end hotel resort in Langkawi and their family members who tested positive recently suffered from mild and asymptomatic versions of Covid-19, the Kedah health department said today.

This was after 59 workers and their family members tested positive for the virus on Oct 1, which led to the temporary closure of the resort. It is learnt that the guests were transferred immediately to another hotel when the cases were first detected.

State health director Othman Warijo said the 59 cases were detected from tests carried out on 249 people identified through contact tracing, adding that three more were awaiting their results.

He said the outbreak has been contained and is under control, with all those tested positive told to observe a ten-day home quarantine.

“Early investigations revealed that the infection was probably contracted from the community and later spread at the workplace. No one was warded as they only had mild or no symptoms at all,” he said when contacted.

Othman said the positive cases led to the creation of a new workplace cluster called “Dah Teluk Nibong ” on Oct 1.

Eugene Dass, Kedah-Perlis chairman of the Malaysian Association of Hotels, said all hotels in Langkawi were strictly adhering to the SOPs set by the government.

He said it was fortunate that all those infected and their close contacts were immediately rounded up by the health department for tests.

Dass said the government should come up with relevant SOPs related to the endemic phase in the Langkawi travel bubble, and called for discussions on improving the rules so that they did not punish the hotels.

149 travellers test positive since Sept 16

A total of 149 Covid-19 positive cases were detected as a result of screenings at air and sea entry points to Langkawi since the domestic tourism bubble pioneer project began on Sept 16, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.

The total was recorded as at noon today and involved the screening of 40,458 people, of which 34,038 were done at seven airport entry points and 6,420 others via entry points of ferry services in Kuala Perlis and Kuala Kedah.

“A total of 36,842 people had undergone screening using the antigen test and, of the total, 149 positive cases were detected and 186 other individuals were close contacts of the 149 cases. They have been isolated and put under a home surveillance order. - FMT