[UPDATED] Sabah’s Covid-19 cases soar to 3,333 today

KOTA KINABALU – Covid-19 cases continue to surge in Sabah, hitting 3,333 cases today, raising the spectre of the figures that once hit the state after its polls in September 2020.

Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun in a Twitter update said today’s caseload is at 3,333, up from yesterday’s 1,264.

“Nearly 52% or 1,075 are symptomatic cases and sporadic infections.”

He added that Kota Kinabalu has 591 cases, followed by Penampang (324), Tuaran (266), Papar (224), Ranau (196) and Tawau (191).

The state, he said, has also logged another three education clusters at SMK Simpangan (Paitan), Beluran’s SMK Bukit Garam 1, and Institut Pengajian Islam dan Dakwah Sabah (Ipdas) in Keningau, respectively.

He advises the public to avoid crowded places. 

Earlier today, various agencies announced the closure of their offices in Penampang and Kota Kinabalu.

Pos Malaysia, for example, announced the closure of its post office here, while the city hall closed the Kota Kinabalu general and fish markets for sanitisation.

In his daily briefing tonight, Masidi said although there is a drastic increase in today’s cases, only 15 are in the advanced categories 3, 4 and 5.

“This is proof that the vaccination programme has been very effective in reducing the seriousness of the coronavirus infection.”

He said 185 cases are in the existing 30 active clusters in the state, adding that 22 of the clusters involve educational institutions.

He added that three new clusters are identified as the Access Menawo cluster, Simpang Paitan cluster and Bukit Garam cluster.

A 21-year-old woman staying at the Institut Pelajaran dan Dakwah Islam Sabah hostel is the index case in the Access Menawo cluster, said Masidi.

He added that the patient began showing symptoms on February 6 and tested positive the same day while 11 others were subsequently found to be infected.

In the Simpangan Paitan cluster, he said the index case involved a female student at the SMK Simpangan. 

The patient showed symptoms on February 4 and found positive two days later.

Screening of her close contacts found 22 others with Covid-19, he said.

In the third cluster, an 18-year-old SMK Bukit Garam 1 student went for a screening on February 6 after having symptoms since January 28, and tested positive.

After screening the student’s close contacts, 46 students and school staffers were infected.

Masidi said a total of 13,297 cases have been recorded in Sabah in one week. – The Vibes, February 9, 2022