Majority of Sabah Covid-19 cases linked to returnees

By Olivia Miwil - May 26, 2020 @ 10:23am

KOTA KINABALU: Sixty-one per cent of Sabah's Covid-19 cases are contacts of those who recently returned to the state.

Sabah Health Department (JKNS) director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said 209 of the state's 343 cases were infected by returnees.

"We have received many enquiries from the public about reported import cases. They are being categorised based on the source of infections.

"Import case A are those who got infected in Vietnam, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Indonesia; B are those returning from outside Sabah; while C are patients who contracted the disease within the state," she said in a statement.

Category C accounts for 60 per cent of all cases, 30 per cent are in category B, while the rest are from overseas.

Meanwhile, JKNS has been informed of the return of 1,148 people to Sabah today on four chartered flights.

"All of them will be inspected by health personnel at Kota Kinabalu's international entry points.

"JKNS would like to call for the cooperation of everyone to ensure that the management of the movement of students returning to the state goes smoothly," she added.

Up to 9,102 people are currently undergoing home quarantine, while 2,601 have been placed at 56 quarantine centres in the state.

Thirty-three people are still undergoing treatment at hospitals, including four who recovered earlier, but re-tested positive.