THERE is a possibility the Sivagangga Covid-19 cluster in Kedah could be a super spreader, warned director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today.

Six new infections from the second generation of the cluster were detected in the past 24 hours as a result of active case detection.

This included a family of five who had travelled to an area in Kedah that is under an enhanced movement control order.

The five have been admitted to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star.

The source of infection is under investigation.

“The Sivagangga cluster has spread faster than the nine other clusters in Sarawak and others,” Noor Hisham  said in a press conference today.

“Research is being done to see if we are facing a G614 cluster which is a super spreader. The ministry has been informed of such super spreaders in Egypt and Pakistan.

“There is a huge possibility that this is a super spreader cluster. We need to perform a test on the virus in the lab to look at the genomic sequence of the Sivagangga cluster.”

The G614 strain of the coronavirus is reported to be more infectious in cell cultures. However, clinical data suggest that the variant does not cause more severe illness.

Meanwhile, the Sivagangga and Ulu Tiram church clusters are now listed among the target groups.

In the case of Sivagangga, the ministry is currently screening those who have been to the restaurant where the infection started and those who have been exposed to the patients or are within a kilometre radius of the location source of infection.

The ministry is also screening those suspected of being linked to the cluster.

As of noon, 2,351 people in the cluster have been screened for the coronavirus. Thirty have tested positive and 1,617, negative. The remaining 704 are awaiting their test results.

The Sivagangga cluster originated from a restaurant owner who broke home quarantine. – August 6, 2020.