MIRI – A large construction camp in the Subis district of northern Sarawak has been hit by a serious Covid-19 outbreak.
The site houses approximately 400 Indonesian and local workers. So far, 153 of them have tested positive for the coronavirus already, according to a Health Department report.
The sprawling site includes housing quarters for the workers involved in housing and road-building projects in Subis, about 80km south of Miri.
The state Disaster Management Committee (DMC) has ordered thorough screening for all workers in the camp.
The DMC’s secretariat has classified and labelled the outbreak as the Tangap sub-cluster.
“The index case for the outbreak in this construction camp has been linked to the Pasai cluster in Sibu,” the department said.
The authorities have also set up roadblocks to prevent workers from leaving the camp.
The workers who tested positive and have serious symptoms are being transported via ambulance to Miri Hospital, which is already overloaded with 450 patients admitted into its Covid-19 isolation and treatment ward.
As of yesterday, the death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic in Sarawak stood at 61, while the number of positive patients since the beginning of the outbreak is 6,586.
Miri and Subis are among the 11 districts in Sarawak listed as Covid-19 red zones, where the virus’ infections have become widespread, with the worst hit being Sibu district. There are also two districts categorised as orange zones, yellow zones (15) and green zones (12).
Under the current movement control order (MCO), an orange zone is one where there are between 15 and 45 new positive cases over the last two weeks; a yellow zone is where there are between one and 15 cases; and, a green zone means there have been no new cases for two weeks running. – The Vibes, February 15, 2021
