Civil servant in Sabah triggers new cluster linked to church activities

 By Olivia Miwil - June 10, 2021 @ 10:20pm

A civil servant has triggered a new Covid-19 cluster associated with religious activities at the Kampung Lobou church in Menggatal, near here. - NSTP file pic, for illustration purposes only.

KOTA KINABALU: A civil servant has triggered a new Covid-19 cluster associated with religious activities at the Kampung Lobou church in Menggatal, near here.

"The symptomatic 35-year-old man tested positive for the virus during a screening at a private clinic before he was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment," said Sabah Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun in a statement.

He said under the Kampung Lobou cluster, 15 people have been confirmed to be positive so far, out of the 62 screenings conducted.

Out of those positive for infection, seven comprised close contacts and symptomatic individuals who went to the SIB (Sidang Injil Borneo) Church in Kampung Lobou between May 16 and 23.

Sabah recorded 233 Covid-19 cases today with one death in Semporna.

Masidi, who is also state Local Government and Housing Minister, said the bed occupancy rate at hospitals and quarantine centres is at 46.11 per cent.

Starting yesterday, the Kota Belud Hospital became the 10th Covid-19 treatment centre in the state.

On the food basket aid initiative under the Bantuan Prihatin Covid-19 2.0 programme, Masidi said the Sabah government had distributed 348,995 food baskets to the people affected by the pandemic so far.

In a separate statement, state Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the government would be giving out a third edition of assistance totaling RM154,835,981.

The assistance will allow recipients to receive a one-off RM300 payment and food basket aid.

A total of 343,665 people will benefit from these one-off payments totalling RM120,469,481, and food baskets worth a total of RM34,366,500.