LABUAN – The number of new Covid-19 cases from the Omicron-linked cluster of Jalan OKK Awang Besar Saudi has increased from an initial 13 to 18 as of yesterday, said Labuan Health Director Dr Ismuni Bohari.
He said healthcare personnel are fully prepared for a possible surge in cases but urged the public to adhere to the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs), including avoiding crowds and practising physical distancing.
“The number of new cases in the newly emerged cluster has increased, and we anticipate a further rise in the next few days.
“The possible increase is not only from the inflow of travellers, but most likely from among students as the school session is resuming next week. In anticipation of a surge, we have decided to freeze the annual leave of our staff,” he told Bernama today.
Dr Ismuni said a Sabahan student of the Labuan Matriculation College, who was scheduled to begin the new semester, tested positive for Covid-19 a few days ago.
“The student has been isolated in a room, and we are monitoring the student’s health condition and the possible spread among students,” he said.
Dr Ismuni said after successfully battling Covid-19, Labuan is now seeing a fluctuating trend in new cases, recording double digits on January 2 before dropping to two and five cases on January 3 and 4 respectively. However, the number rose again to 15 on January 5 and to 20 cases yesterday.
“Of the 20 cases we reported yesterday, 18 came from two families who had returned from Kelantan and Sabah. This shows the Covid-19 SOPs are being gradually taken for granted,” he said.
He said healthcare enforcement personnel have been tasked with enhanced monitoring of SOP compliance, especially at food and beverage premises.
“No one will be spared a compound if they are found violating the SOPs, as we are not only targeting business premises operators, but also individuals (visitors and customers),” he said. – Bernama, January 7, 2022
