KUCHING: Sarawak’s entry ban against travellers from India has been expanded to include four more South Asian countries in a preventive measure against a Covid-19 variant of concern (VOC).
The state disaster management committee said effective Wednesday (May 26), anyone who had been in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan in the last 30 days would not be allowed to enter the state.
It said this was aimed at preventing a Covid-19 VOC from India from coming into the state.
Last month, the committee announced that only those who had been in India for the past 30 days were banned from entering the state.
So far, the Indian variant has not been detected in Sarawak.
Meanwhile, the committee said the state recorded 640 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Wednesday.
Kuching and Miri had the most cases with 110 and 101 respectively, while 29 other districts reported between one and 75 cases each.
This takes the state’s cumulative tally to 43,966, with 263 deaths.
The committee said the latest fatalities were a 65-year-old man who died at Bintulu Hospital on May 23 and a 71-year-old woman who died at Miri Hospital on May 26.
Both had comorbidities of diabetes, heart and liver disease and asthma.
The committee also said three new clusters were identified in Kuching and one in Saratok.
It said the Kampung Semerah Padi cluster stemmed from social movements among family members, colleagues and friends to the index case at Kampung Semerah Padi Phase 1 here, resulting in 21 confirmed cases to date.
The Jalan Sukma cluster is a workplace cluster involving a housing developer at the Sukma commercial centre here, with 10 confirmed cases.
The Akademi Semariang cluster was detected at a skills training academy at Jalan Sultan Tengah here and currently has 15 confirmed cases.
In Saratok, the Lubok Nitik cluster involves the office and workers’ quarters at an oil palm plantation and has 15 confirmed cases to date.
The committee said the Tabuan Melayu cluster in Kuching had ended, leaving 87 active clusters in the state.
