LANGKAWI – Despite the apocalyptic predictions of a spike in Covid-19 infections over the reopening of Langkawi, which saw a wave of domestic tourists coming in, the holiday island seems to be doing just fine, with the first Covid-19 case involving a tourist only reported today.
Langkawi district health officer Dr Mansor Ismail told The Vibes that there has been no significant increase in Covid-19 cases among locals since the travel bubble was implemented two weeks ago.
“There is only one tourist case today that involves a child who tested positive after symptoms appeared. His family and close contacts were tested, and they were all negative.
“All of them tested negative before arrival into Langkawi as well,” he said.
Bernama reported that the child is 3 years old.
Mansor also highlighted that, just before the reopening of the Langkawi, they were tackling more than 1,000 active cases. In just two weeks, despite the lifting of the travel ban, the district managed to lower the number of active cases to just over 600, with a maximum of 40 to 50 Covid-19 cases per day.
“That said, we must also understand that a majority of locals in Langkawi are fully vaccinated, so we are not too worried about that. When there are cases, most of them are very mild or have no symptoms.
“I am not declaring that Langkawi has already reached the endemic stage; we are still in the pandemic as there is still a risk of infection, but it is very low,” he said.
Meanwhile, Langkawi Umno Wanita chief and the state’s deputy women wing leader Hisham Suhaily Othman, tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday and is receiving treatment at Sultanah Maliha Hospital (HSM).
As a result, Langkawi Umno Puteri chief Ummi Kalsom Abdul Muthalib and five other Langkawi Umno Women’s Committee members have been instructed to undergo self-quarantine at home.
She was reportedly suffering from a sore throat after coming into close contact with several friends who tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from a trip from the island.
Six others locals who were there are also under home quarantine after an RT-PCR test revealed that they are positive for Covid-19.
They had previously tested negative using the Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test home kit.
“This experience I went through showed that saliva self-testing is not 100% accurate for detecting Covid-19,” Ummi Kalsom said.
“I apologise for the inconvenience and anyone who has been in close contact (with me) since September 18 until last Saturday, after I was asked to take the Covid-19 screening test.” – The Vibes, September 30, 2021
