PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The Malaysian health authorities have detected seven Covid-19 cases at the Tawau prison in Sabah. Five of them had caught the virus from a district police headquarters 150km away before infecting two other inmates at the prison.
Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said on Thursday (Sept 3) that of the seven cases, six were detected on Thursday, while one was detected on Tuesday.
The inmate who tested positive on Tuesday was found to have come into contact with patients from the Benteng Lahad Datu (LD) cluster.
The Benteng LD cluster was identified after a screening on detainees at the Lahad Datu police headquarters on the same day.
"He has a history of being at the Lahad Datu police headquarters for a case mention," Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement.
"There, he had close contact with the two index cases of this cluster," he said in a statement, adding that the inmate is a 43-year-old Malaysian.
Six undocumented migrants - four from the Philippines and two from Indonesia - as well as a Malaysian, were among the Benteng LD cluster and all had been admitted to Lahad Datu Hospital.
Among the six cases detected at the Tawau prison on Thursday, four had also travelled to the Lahad Datu police headquarters.
"All (four) had close contacts with the index cases. They returned to the prison on Aug 28 and further infected two inmates.
"All of them were asymptomatic and have been admitted to the Tawau Hospital," he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said the six, aged between 17 and 49, comprised four men from the Philippines and two Malaysian men.
He said the seven cases at the Tawau prison are among the country's 14 new cases that were reported on Thursday.
Currently, there are 14 cases related to the cluster.
Dr Noor Hisham added that so far, 336 individuals had been screened under the cluster.
They included 121 detainees, 83 prison employees, 68 family members of detainees and staff, 61 police officers and three government officers.
He said 123 individuals have tested negative, while the results for another 199 were still pending.
