COVID-19: Six new clusters detected - Health D-G

PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Health (MOH) has detected six new clusters, bringing the number of active COVID-19 clusters in the country to 99, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said two new clusters were recorded in Selangor, namely the Jambu Cluster and Bah Mutiara Cluster. The other clusters are Tinusa Cluster in Sabah and Sarawak; Sauh Cluster (Sabah); Sofi Cluster (Negeri Sembilan); and Umboo Cluster (Melaka).

He said 33 new positive cases were detected in the Sofi Cluster, with 160 individuals screened so far.

"This cluster involves the district of Seremban and the index case for this cluster (case number 22,198) was identified through symptomatic screening on Oct 20 and admitted to the Rembau Hospital.

"Close contact screening identified 33 more positive cases," he said at a press conference on the development of COVID-19.

The Tinusa Cluster, he said, was identified through the symptomatic screening of an individual (case number 21,844) on Oct 6 in the Sandakan district and admitted to the Duchess of Kent Hospital.

He said the close contact screening further identified 33 more positive cases, of which three were new cases.

"The Sauh Cluster, meanwhile, involved the districts of Kota Kinabalu and Papar in Sabah as well as Miri district in Sarawak, where the index cases (cases number 16,540 and 17,508) were identified through symptomatic screenings on Oct 13.

"As of noon today (Oct 22), a total of 149 individuals from this cluster have been screened, with 17 testing positive for COVID-19 and, of the total, three are new cases," he said.

The Jambu Cluster and Bah Mutiara Cluster, meanwhile, involve the Hulu Langat district in Selangor.

For the Jambu Cluster, the index case (case number 19,367) tested positive on Oct 16 and admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital.

"A total of 139 individuals have been screened and 15 of them tested positive, of which six are new cases.

"The Bah Mutiara Cluster was detected in Titiwangsa and Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur. The index case (case number 10,507) tested positive for COVID-19 and had a history of returning from a high-risk area in Sabah," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the sixth cluster, the Umboo Cluster, involved the district of Alor Gajah in Melaka and the index case (case number 21,322) tested positive following a screening at the Immigration Detention Depot on Oct 18.

He said the individual was admitted to the Melaka Hospital and close contact screening found three more positive cases.

"As of noon today, a total of 373 individuals have been screened and four tested positive, of which one is a new case," he said.

-- BERNAMA