KUCHING: With a positivity rate at 3.42 percent, Sarawak has adequate number of testing to detect Covid-19 in the state.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the number of cases at present may seem high because the authorities are conducting testing to all close contacts be it those with or without symptoms.
“We are doing this because we take into consideration those who are asymptomatic but could still spread the infection to others.
“So by doing screening tests, we will know if they are positive or not and we can then prevent the infection from spreading any further.
“Therefore, the state will continue to carry out second testing on the tenth day for all cases in the state,” he said when speaking at a daily Covid-19 update press conference today (Feb 19).
He also informed there were 246,600 PCR tests which have been carried out in the state as of Feb 17.
“We have screened 178,433 cases who had come forward to be screened. Of the total, 6,108 were positive.
“With that in mind, our specialists have determined that our positivity rate is only at 3.42 percent which is less than the five percent test positivity benchmark recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO),” he added.
Asked on a recent report regarding new strains of Covid-19 detected in the state, state Health director Dr Chin Zin Hing said the test was done at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).
“They got the sample from the positive cases. So far, this is just a developing part and they haven’t done the full study.
“You need to have a lot of samples from different locations to know what strain they are. The analysis will take time in order to know what strain and before we can pinpoint where they are from.
“Therefore, the two strains that were reported is just part of the picture and so, to do any conclusion now is probably a bit early,” he explained.
