KUALA LUMPUR (July 21): Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah is getting worried about the rising new Covid-19 cases in the country, especially locally transmitted ones, as new infections climbed.
He said active cases dropped to 63 on July 9 but rose to 130 today, as the country recorded 15 new infections, pushing the positive tally to 8,815. Of the 15 new cases, 11 were local transmissions and four were imported cases. This is the third consecutive day of active cases above the 100 mark, after staying below that level for 17 days in a row.
He also said the ministry has found a new infection cluster that it named 'Sentosa', which involves a hospital in Kuching, Sarawak, with six confirmed infections. Five of these were part of the 15 new infections reported today.
This cluster is among 13 new clusters detected by the ministry in the past 10 days, which has increased the number of active clusters in the country to 19.
The first case under this new cluster (patient no. 8773) is a healthcare worker who displayed symptoms of the illness on July 13. “The patient was then tested positive [Covid-19] on July 19. Subsequently, investigations and active case detection have been conducted,” he said in his media briefing today.
Up until noon today, 61 people linked to this cluster have been screened, with 56 testing negative, and six confirmed positive. Of the positives, five are healthcare workers and one a staff of a cleaning company.
“All of these cases were treated in the Sarawak General Hospital. The hospital still continues to run, but it will not accept inpatients, while outpatients will be referred to the nearest hospital for treatment for the time being,” said Noor Hisham.
The source of infection is still under investigation, he said, adding preventive measures have been taken by the ministry in the meantime, such as disinfecting and decontaminating the hospital.
Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said he supports the government’s decision to quarantine returnees from abroad at centres designated by the government, starting July 24. But he also pointed to the nine clusters of local transmissions in the country, which indicate local transmissions are not to be taken lightly, as he urged the public not to disobey the standard operating procedures established by the ministry.
He also shared that as of today, 69.1% of coronavirus deaths in Malaysia were among senior citizens, with one of the latest deaths being that from the old folks' home cluster in Kluang, Johor. That cluster now has 11 confirmed infections involving senior citizens.