PETALING JAYA: Another new cluster of Covid-19 infection has been detected, this time in Tawar, Kedah.
So far, 10 people in this cluster have tested positive for the virus. This makes it the second cluster in the state, after Sivagangga.
Health Director-General Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the first case in this cluster is a Malaysian entrepreneur who tested positive on Tuesday.
The man had attended a religious ceremony on the demise of a family member from July 31 to Aug 1, Noor Hisham said at a press conference yesterday.
“About 30 people attended the ceremony.”
Noor Hisham said a week later, on Aug 8, the person experienced chest pains and had fever, and immediately sought treatment at a medical centre.
“He was screened for Covid-19 and the results came out positive.”
He said on discovering the first case, the authorities immediately conducted a contact tracing exercise.
Eighty-six people were identified as close contacts of the entrepreneur with nine testing positive for Covid-19.
The nine had attended the same religious ceremony.
Of the remaining 77 people, 21 tested negative while the remaining 56 are still waiting for their test results.
Noor Hisham said investigations are under way to find the source of the infection.
Meanwhile, another 15 cases of Covid-19 were reported as of noon yesterday, bringing the national tally to 9,129.
Of the new cases, 11 were through local transmissions. They comprised 10 Malaysians and one foreigner.
The imported cases comprised three Malaysians who had just returned from Indonesia and one from Yemen.
Noor Hisham said there are still 183 active cases. Two patients are being treated in intensive care units but neither needing ventilator assistance.
Four more patients were discharged from hospital yesterday, bringing the number of recoveries to 8,821. The death toll remains at 125.
