By Reza A Hamid
MELAKA – The Covid-19 positive cases for the Pulau Gadong cluster that was caused by the Melaka State Election has increased to 137 cases involving teachers and students compared to 41 cases earlier.
The Melaka Health and Anti-Drugs Committee Chairman, Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said that the 234.1 percent increment was detected from the Covid-19 screening conducted on 224 students and teachers from two tahfiz centres.
According to him, the result showed 137 positive cases, meanwhile, the remaining 87 negative cases have been ordered to go for quarantine since 25 November.
“The risk of community infection is low as all students and teachers from the madrasah were in the radius of the area only.
“It would not spread in the community and the quarantine period is expected to end on 14 December if there is no new infection. Unless, there are new cases, their quarantine period will be extended for another 10 days,” he said when met at Wisma Persekutuan, Ayer Keroh today.
Dr Akmal also monitored the situation in the madrasah last night and found that all residents were healthy under category one and two.
“The infection only involved the teachers and students from the two madrasah and they have been in their dormitory since the first index case on 25 December.
“So, they didn’t have any external contact and I believe that the people need not worry about community infection from the Pulau Gadong Cluster,” he said.
Last Monday, Melaka reported three news clusters, including one Melaka polls related cluster which witnessed 41 Covid-19 cases after the state election on 20 November.
The Pulau Gadong cluster index case started on 21 November, when a teacher with symptoms taught at two tahfiz centres on 22 and 23 November before he was tested positive of Covid-19 after a screening on 25 November. He was involved with the Melaka state election campaign.
The two religious schools have been ordered shut until 17 and 18 December under Section 18 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342), for sanitisation and disinfection.
On another development, Dr Akmal said that the MITC Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre (PKRC) that was scheduled to end on 19 December will be extended until June next year.
“The six months extension is not due to the rise of Covid-19 cases in the state. On the contrary, it is a precautionary measure in case if there is a new wave or new virus variant.
“Although the admission to the MITC PKRC is merely 24.7 percent or around 300 patients compared to the 1,500 beds quota, the state government will continue to take precautionary measures throughout this period,” he said. -MalaysiaGazette
