KOTA KINABALU – Four new Covid-19 clusters were detected in Sabah yesterday with two linked to the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, said state Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.
He said the Kg Bolong Baru cluster in Tuaran and Kota Belud were triggered by the index case, a 28-year-old housewife who was infected following house-to-house visits during the Aidilfitri celebration. The cluster has recorded 33 cases.
“The index case from Kg Bolong Baru was confirmed positive on May 27, screenings conducted including the workplace found 26 positive cases in Tuaran and seven cases in Kota Belud,” he said in a statement last night.
According to Masidi, one more cluster triggered by the Aidilfitri celebration was the Taman Wawasan Cluster in Beaufort, Papar and Kota Kinabalu, which to date involves 30 cases of infection from a 66-year-old male index case.
“The index case was confirmed positive on May 18 and a screening of close contacts found two positive cases, whereby the close contacts were involved in visits and receptions during Hari Raya in Kg Tarap, Bongawan. The largest number of transmissions in the cluster was found in Taman Wawasan, Beaufort, with 20 cases,” he said.
Meanwhile, Masidi said the Hamparan cluster in Kinabatangan involved 27 infections at the workplace from the index case, a 26-year-old woman who tested for Covid-19 on May 29. Screening at the place of work at an oil palm factory detected 17 workplace cases as well as infections of dependents.
He said the Jalan Budi Cluster in Tawau involved a 37-year-old woman, a beauty salon worker in Johor who was confirmed positive during a screening at an international checkpoint on June 2 before close contact screenings later found nine positive cases among her housemates.
Meanwhile, he said the state government has decided that premises selling food, retail and distribution services including restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience outlets and hardware stores will operate from 7am to 7pm during the movement control order.
“Wet markets are allowed to operate from 6am to 3pm, while petrol stations and convenience outlets at the stations are allowed to operate from 6am to 8pm,’’ he said.
Masidi said financial institutions and banks are allowed to operate from 8.30am to 5.30pm, while offices of professionals such as accountants, lawyers and engineers are allowed to operate from 9am to 5pm. – Bernama, June 7, 2021
