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PUTRAJAYA: A new strain of the Covid-19 virus could have caused the spread of infections in the Mengketil group involving Kelantan and Terengganu, Chief Health Officer Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
He said a mutation in the virus could have caused the cluster to be highly contagious. This had led to the decision to impose a blockade on Kelantan.
“In a short time, in five days, the virus has spread rapidly to other districts, and even to Terengganu,” he said.
Mengketil’s group started with an index case on November 13 and has recorded 45 infections so far, with three new cases today.
Noor Hisham said the strain in this group has just been identified, “so we have not sent it to the lab for analysis. That could take two to three weeks. “
It was initially detected in the Machang district, but has since spread to Kota Bharu, Tanah Merah, Pasir Mas and Kuala Krai in Kelantan, as well as Besut in Terengganu.
The spread of infections was caused by travelers to Kelantan who brought the virus from hot spots such as the Klang Valley and Negeri Sembilan.
He urged all Kelantan residents to stay home whenever possible and comply with procedures for the next two weeks so that the state can return to the relaxed MCO restrictions of recovery.
At the Bah Bercham conglomerate in Kinta, Perak, Noor Hisham said the index case tested negative for the first time during an examination at KLIA after returning from Sabah.
However, the person did not register at the counter that issued the home surveillance orders and the mandatory quarantine was skipped.
“There could have been some problems in terms of implementation,” he said, as the person had left the airport without being given the pink bracelet. “We only detected the case after the individual showed symptoms.”
He said the Health Ministry was looking to toughen screening procedures at airports to ensure that all those who tested negative after returning from Sabah were quarantined for 14 days.
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