KOTA KINABALU – Dozens of inmates who were due to be released from Tawau Prison on July 16 were found infected with Covid-19 following swab tests.
Sabah health authorities said that this was when the Tawau Prison Covid-19 cluster was first detected.
Authorities said 30 of the inmates were non-citizens who were about to be moved to a temporary detention centre before being deported.
The remaining five cases involved one case of a person who had an antenatal appointment and four other people awaiting court hearings.
“All of the cases were detected at Ceria, Damai and Abadi blocks in which all the inmates had undergone a 14-day quarantine but only two were found negative.
“Close contact screening was done on the inmates and prison officers,” the state Health Department said in its Covid-19 daily report.
The department also said the new infections were not linked to the previous Tembok cluster which occurred at the Ehsan block last year.
To date, the Tawau Prison cluster has recorded a total of 159 cases, including the 124 new cases reported today, since it was detected about two days ago.
The Kepayan Prison cluster report has yet to be made public by the health authorities. – The Vibes, July 18, 2021
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