KOTA KINABALU (Oct 4): Sabah is on track to flatten the Covid-19 curve as new infections continued to drop to 677 on Monday, the lowest since July 24.
Nine fatalities were recorded, including four in Kota Kinabalu and one in Keningau, Beluran, Tawau, Tenom and Sandakan.
Two new workplace clusters, namely Sungai Tabulion Cluster and Sandau Sawit Cluster in Kinabatangan, were also reported.
Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said Sabah was faring well with 21 districts recording a decrease in cases and only five districts saw an increase, while one district, Kudat, maintained its Sunday’s figure.
“Only three districts reported cases above 50, namely Kinabatangan (107), Kota Kinabalu (94) and Keningau (78).”
He said Lahad Datu registered the largest decrease of 35 cases, followed by Kota Kinabalu -18 cases, Putatan -18 cases, Tawau -16 cases, Ranau -15 cases, Kota Marudu -15 cases, Sipitang -13 cases, Nabawan -13 cases, Penampang -13 cases, Pitas -12 cases and Sandakan -11 cases.
Meanwhile, he said districts that showed significant increase were Kinabatangan +92 cases, Keningau +23 cases and Papar +14 cases.
“The drastic increase of cases in Kinabatangan is due to two new clusters, Sungai Tabulion Cluster and Sandau Sawit Cluster, which contributed 82.2 per cent of the cases in the district.”
He said there was no late registration of Covid-19 infections exceeding five days on Monday.
He said 384 cases or 56.72 per cent of the daily infections in Sabah took place in the last 24 hours, while the remaining were cases reported between two and five days.
Masidi, who is Sabah’s Covid-19 spokesperson, said the latest graph showed that Sabah was on track to flatten the curve.
Nevertheless, he reminded that the main factor that determined the rise and fall of new Covid-19 cases was the people’s behaviours.
“Total compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and good personal healthcare practices are keys to prevent ourselves from Covid-19 infections.”
Of the daily cases, he said 87.74 per cent of the cases fell under Category 1 and 2, six cases in Category 3, and four cases each in Category 4 and 5.
He added that patients under Category 1 and 2 normally did not require treatment in hospital.
On the cluster, Masidi said the Sungai Tabulion Cluster, which was detected in Malbumi Gedau Oil Palm Plantation in Keningau, stemmed from a female cleaner, a 52-year-old foreigner who started experiencing Covid-19 symptoms on September 17 and subsequently tested positive on September 28. Sixty-two of her social contacts, workers and their dependents were found to have contracted the virus, which brought the cumulative positive cases under the cluster to 63.
Meanwhile, he said the Sandau Sawit Cluster was also reported at a palm oil mill in Kinabatangan. The index case is an Indonesian male driver, 30, who tested positive on September 29 during workplace screening. Twenty-seven of his social contacts and workers were infected. To date, the cluster has reported 28 positive cases, including 25 new infections.
On the other hand, he said 1,900 Covid-19 patients have recovered while 2,664 were still undergoing treatment.
Separately, the Enhanced Movement Control Order at Kg Garib, Matunggong, Kudat will end on October 5 as scheduled.