Kedah's Sivagangga cluster - what you need to know

THE Sivagangga cluster is one of the largest active cluster hitting Malaysia, adding strains to the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

The Sivagangga cluster originated from Napoh, Kubang Pasu after an Indian man disobeyed quarantine order upon his return from Sivagangga, a town in Tamil Nadu.

The 57-year-old man, who is also the owner of the Nasi Kandar Salleh Restaurant was seen at his

restaurant during Hari Raya Haji with his pink wrist band and was tested positive for COVID-19 on July 28.

It was later found that the establishment also did not use the MySejahtera application or adopt any form of manual visitors’ registration and had failed to take the body temperatures of customers upon their entry.

Why it matters?

Four mukims in Kubang Pasu were immediately put under a Targeted Enhanced Movement Control Order (TEMCO) following the emergence of new cases emerging from the cluster.

Schools and kindergartens in these areas were also closed while teachers in the affected areas are not allowed to enter the schools.

The cases from the cluster range from immediate family members who had close contact with the Persons Under Investigation (PUI) and also customers who visited the restaurant.

As of August 8, Bernama reported a total of 2,351 people from this cluster was screened, out of which 30 tested positive for COVID-19. Another 1,617 people tested negative while 704 people are still awaiting test results.

The cluster has also spread out of Kedah to neighbouring Perlis and Penang, infecting 11 people in those states.

The Sivagangga cluster is now being investigated for the possibility of it being caused by a super-spreader strain called D614G that has been reported in Europe and other countries.

The virus is said to increase the risk of infection by more than 10 times among those who do not follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) imposed by the government.

The result that will determine whether the genomic sequence is a mutated strain or otherwise will be known in a week.

What’s next?

Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the Sivagangga cluster infection in Kedah, Perlis and Penang has been successfully controlled through active case detection and TEMCO.

Meanwhile, several groups including Consumers Association of Kedah (CAKE) and five other NGOs have voiced out their contempt over the emergence of the cluster and planned to sue the owner of the Nasi Kandar restaurant.

Many have also called for the restaurant to be closed and the owner to have his PR status revoked.

According to Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, the restaurant’s licence has been revoked and the premise will be sealed by the Majlis Daerah Kubang Pasu as soon as TEMCO ends.