15 New COVID-19 Cases In Peninsular Malaysia Involve Returnees From Sabah
Malaysia recorded a total of 150 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Sunday, 27 September.
By May Vin Ang — 28 Sep 2020, 12:28 PM
At least 15 new COVID-19 cases across five states and territories in Peninsular Malaysia have been traced back to Sabah, a high-risk zone as declared by the Ministry of Health (MOH)
According to Malaysiakini, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that COVID-19 infections originating from the East Malaysian state were found in Selangor, Pahang, Johor, Melaka, and Kuala Lumpur.
The cases were detected through screening of people returning from Sabah at all entry points into the Peninsular - eight were found in Selangor, three in Pahang, two in Johor, one in Melaka, and one in Kuala Lumpur.
The one case in Kuala Lumpur has led to a new cluster in the city called the Setapak cluster
Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the index case had travelled to Tawau and Semporna from 17 September to 20 September and experienced fever, cough, sore throat, muscle pain, and diarrhoea after flying back home
"The patient was admitted to a medical centre on 25 September. A COVID-19 screening identified him as positive and he was transferred to Sungai Buloh Hospital," he said, as quoted by New Straits Times.
20 of the case's close contacts have been traced and screened, of which three tested positive, 16 returned negative, and one is awaiting their result.
These cases were among the 150 new COVID-19 cases recorded by MOH on Sunday, 27 September
Local transmissions made up the bulk of the spike in cases with 146 testing positive, while the remaining four cases were imported from India and Saudi Arabia.
Dr Noor Hisham informed that Sabah registered the majority of the new infections with 124 cases and two new clusters - one is the Buang Sayang cluster in Sipitang and the other is the Kampung Sakong cluster in Semporna.
As of noon on Sunday, 10 people from the Buang Sayang cluster have been screened, of which four tested positive and six are awaiting results.
The Kampung Sakong cluster saw 66 people screened where nine tested positive and 57 are awaiting results.
Here is the breakdown of the other cases who tested positive in Sabah on Sunday:
One new death in Sabah was also reported, raising the cumulative number of COVID-19 fatalities in the country to 134
Dr Noor Hisham said the case was an 81-year-old woman who showed symptoms of fever and cough and was admitted to Semporna Hospital on 17 September.
She tested positive on 22 September and was transferred to Tawau Hospital four days later.
"Her condition deteriorated and was admitted to the ICU on the same day. She was pronounced dead on 27 September at 12.52am," said the Health D-G.
Keep practising physical distancing and wash your hands often. Watch the latest update on the COVID-19 situation:
Mandatory COVID-19 screening for Sabah returnees have led to long queues and crowds at the airports:
