Once dubbed 'Little Wuhan', Semporna's cases now almost nil

 By Olivia Miwil - December 4, 2020 @ 9:39pm

Once dubbed "Little Wuhan" due to it consistently registering the highest number of new Covid-19 cases in Sabah, the Semporna district has since made a remarkable turnaround.- Photo courtesy of HUGS project.

KOTA KINABALU: Once dubbed "Little Wuhan" due to it consistently registering the highest number of new Covid-19 cases in Sabah, the Semporna district has since made a remarkable turnaround.

In October, the Health Ministry said that on average, a staggering 50 per cent of its residents tested positive for Covid-19.

Today, the district recorded only one case.

Sabah Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the situation in Semporna should serve as motivation for other badly-hit districts and show them that there is always hope in the battle against the pandemic.

"Semporna used to be the state's most dangerous district with high infectivity among its people. However, it registered only one case today.

"This demonstrates the continuous efforts and tremendous work by the Health Ministry as well as good cooperation from the people of Semporna, which contributed to the improved situation," he said in a virtual a press conference today.

Sabah today recorded 320 cases, with Kota Kinabalu having the highest number of cases at 72, followed by Sandakan (70), Penampang (45), Lahad Datu (33), Tuaran (28), Tawau (21), Putatan (17), Papar and Pitas (10), Kinabatangan (4), Kudat, Kota Belud and Keningau (3) and Semporna (1).

13 districts reported no new cases with two districts - Nabawan and Telupid - declared green zones.

The state still has 3,331 swab test samples which have yet to be processed.