NIBONG TEBAL – An internal inquiry found that the index cases possibly point to two nurses who treated two Indonesian women at the Juru immigration depot here.
After that, the two Indonesian women tested positive for Covid-19.
As reported by The Vibes yesterday, the depot is now sealed off with some 1,000 detainees and 80 immigration officers under quarantine for 14 days.
An immigration officer, who prefers not to be named, said the virus can be “hiding” behind medical frontliners as it is possible to be asymptomatic.
It is learnt that swab tests have been conducted, and the results will be known soon.
The two Indonesian women have been transferred to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for observation and treatment.
The depot has since been sanitised, and the affected personnel and detainees have undergone a preliminary screening.
It is learnt that the two affected women were recently transferred from the state prison in Jawi to the depot.
Health authorities are also monitoring the families of immigration officers under quarantine, and started contact tracing.
On Saturday, the Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said four new clusters have been identified, two each in Sabah and Penang.
He said the Assumption cluster involves patients in Seberang Prai Utara and Seberang Prai Tengah in Penang, and Kulim in Kedah.
The index case tested positive following a voluntary screening on Wednesday, and close-contact screening found nine other cases. All have been admitted to Penang Hospital.
He added the authorities have screened another 10 people from this cluster, with a total of 56 waiting for their results.
He said the index case in the Rajawali cluster tested positive on November 6, and contact tracing led to the detection of another nine cases.
Ninety people have been screened, he said, with 10 testing positive and the rest awaiting results.
Meanwhile, allegations of a hawker at the Batu Lancang market positive for Covid-19 went viral on social media.
However, health authorities have yet to address the allegations. – The Vibes, November 16, 2020
