AS Health authorities continue unmasking teachers, students and those associated with tahfiz schools to be strong potential Covid-19 infections, the present enhanced Movement Control Order to be extended seems inevitable.
With more suspected cases quarantined at centres, suspected patients ordered self-isolation pending test results, authorities have prepared contingency measures and standard operating procedures for the MCO extension after April 14.
An announcement is expected on Friday, and this extension could go into May.
From Perak to Melaka, cases of students and teachers are prevalent with some as recent as Monday. New possible detections were also reported in Sarawak.
Perak Health Department was quoted by Bernama as saying they remained in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case from the tabligh cluster who was diagnosed on Monday.
Health authorities also detected possible infections in Negeri Sembilan, which included school staff and members of the public in Pedas, Pilin, Kundur and Batu Hampar.
On Wednesday saw 27 people have been identified as COVID-19 positive, and two undergoing intensive care treatment.
“The teachers and staff of the school who tested positive for the coronavirus had infected their family members as well as other villagers, resulting in a third generation spread,” Ministry of Health director-general told Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told Bernama.
“The investigation revealed there have been visits to the houses of unwell relatives even during the Movement Control Order period,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham also said that new infections from the Italy cluster have raised the number of infections to 41 while the infections from a Kuching church gathering cluster have seen an increase of 24 cases; the tabligh cluster, 25 cases and the Bandar Baru Bangi wedding dinner cluster, two cases.
On the 69 sporadic cases detected, he said there is a possibility these are infections from the community.
“The chances are the cases contacted the virus from the community. We have multiple clusters here, so it is possible that the 69 cases got the infection from the community,” he explained.
On the Covid-19 situation, Dr Noor Hisham said the country has shown an overwhelming improvement when the number of patients who have fully recovered and discharged on Wednesday, which stood at 166, this surpassing the number of new positive cases.
With 156 new positive cases recorded, this brings to 4,119 the cumulative total.
“The cumulative number of fully recovered and discharged patients was 1,487, which is 36.1 per cent of the total number of cases,” Dr Noor Hisham said.
Figures show almost 60 percent of the mortality involved those 60 and above with underlying health conditions, and with two more deaths reported Wednesday, fatalities reported to date was 65.
In Thailand, authorities confirmed 111 new Covid-19 cases, including 42 citizens who returned from Indonesia, three deaths, bringing the cumulative total to 2,369 cases and 30 fatalities.
The 42 people were among 76 Thais who returned home from Indonesia on Monday after a religious gathering there was cancelled at the 11th hour.
Bernama quoted Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) as saying the three fatalities reported were foreign nationals – a 48-year-old Russian, a 69-year-old Indian and a 69-year-old US citizen.
Of 2,369 patients, 888 have recovered and returned home.
After Bangkok, the popular tourist town Pattaya went into lockdown from 2 pm Wednesday and will remain so for three weeks to curb the outbreak, as cases continue to rise in the resort city.
Five checkpoints have been set up to enforce the lockdown and residents are also required to wear face masks outside the lockdown hours.
Thai health authorities have conducted 81,860 Covid-19 tests since the outbreak.
In Indonesia, more than 450,000 people have undergone rapid tests for early detection of the virus infection.
Since Tuesday, there were 218 new positive cases, bringing the total to 2,956.
Another 19 deaths were reported since noon Tuesday, bringing the total to 240.
On Wednesday 750 journalists also underwent rapid blood test as they were deemed frontliners in this battle against the pandemic.
