COVID: Sabah records fifth educational institution-linked cluster

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah recorded another COVID-19 cluster involving an educational institution with the index case being a Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Kundasang female student, and seven positive cases linked to the cluster so far as of yesterday.

Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the new cluster, Bypass Kologon-Ranau cluster is the fifth cluster linked to educational institutions reported in Sabah in a period of a week since last Sunday.

Masidi said the new cluster was sparked when the index case, a female student, 16, was confirmed COVID-19 positive on Jan 19 before six other individuals were infected.

"The index case exhibited symptoms since Jan 17 and conducted a self-test on the same day. As soon as she found out she was COVID-19 positive, she informed the school and was quarantined, before being brought to the clinic on Jan 19 to conduct a confirmation screening test and was confirmed positive.

"Screenings of 70 contacts successfully detected another six positive cases, for a total of seven cases. All cases are in category one and two and have been isolated and treated," he said in a statement last night.

Four other clusters involving educational institutions in the state were previously reported at Putatan (Pandan-Pandan cluster); Sandakan (Jalan Pertukangan cluster); Ranau (Puri Ranau cluster); and Tambunan (Jalan Kepayan Lama cluster).

Masidi, the Sabah COVID-19 spokesman, said 218 new cases were recorded yesterday for a total of 245,473 cases in the state.

He added that there were 171 recoveries in Sabah for a total of 237,684 recoveries in the state, with 687 patients still being treated. One death was reported in Papar yesterday.

-- BERNAMA