New Covid-19 Cluster Involving Illegal Immigrants Detected In Sabah
The cluster currently consists of 4 people.
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Another Covid-19 cluster has been detected in Sabah, this time involving illegal immigrants in Kunak.
According to Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the new cluster, named Laut cluster, started with a man who had been deported to Zamboanga, the Philippines on 27 August. The man then returned to Sabah via rat trails on 5 September to be with his pregnant wife.
Rat trails or jalan tikus are routes that cut across forests and plantations between bordering countries. These routes can sometimes involve pathways and underground tunnels too.
His wife tested positive for Covid-19 on 8 September. She had been screened because she suffered bleeding complications after giving birth and had been transferred from Hospital Kunak to Hospital Tawau.
Subsequently, the health authorities tested her close contacts and found that the man’s child and his neighbour were also Covid-19 positives.
The Laut cluster currently consists of four positive cases, all of whom are foreign individuals.
A total of 49 Philippine nationals linked to the cluster have been screened, with 14 testing negative and the other 31 still awaiting their results.
Meanwhile, Sabah’s other cluster in Lahad Datu saw 44 new infections yesterday. This brings the total positive cases in the Benteng Lahad Datu cluster to 381.
A total of 4,089 individuals linked to the cluster have been screened, with 1,164 confirmed to be negative and another 2,544 awaiting their results.
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