Masidi: Close contact sparks community spread

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s latest update showed another 1,035 Covid-19 cases amid a growing “close contact” spread among the community.

It was the second day running that Sabah recorded a four-figure number of infections.

On Friday, the state recorded 1,066 cases, its highest this year.

State Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun reiterated his call to the public to strictly adhere to the standard operating procedure.

He said close contacts made up 48% (497) of the cases while 18.5% came from the existing clusters and 24.3% of the cases came from symptomatic screening.

“It is clear that the Covid-19 virus is spreading within the community and occurring sporadically,” he said, adding that many of those infected did not know where or how they caught the virus.

The state capital recorded 212 cases, east coast Tawau districts saw 139 cases while other districts that recorded higher than 30 cases included Tuaran (72), Telupid (71), Kota Marudu (70) and Penampang (67).

Two new community clusters were also recorded in Gambaron Dua (Telupid) and Jalan Corak (Tongod).

Masidi noted that 115 cases were from immigration detainees in Tawau and Kota Kinabalu prisons.

“Enforcement and monitoring will continue to ensure people observe SOP while the state is also making efforts to speed up the vaccination drive by increasing its daily capacity,” he added.

On Friday, Masidi disclosed that the state government had allowed companies and industries to purchase Covid-19 vaccines – Pfizer Biontech, Sinovac and Astrazeneca – directly to expedite inoculation of their employees.

They would also be allowed to carry out the vaccinations at their workplaces.

He also said the government did not have any plans for a “total lockdown” as it would cripple the economy.