WITH 10 new cases today, Sarawak is seeing the start of a second Covid-19 wave, warned Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas.

Uggah, who chairs the state Disaster Management Committee (DMC), said it is prepared to tackle fresh infections.

He said the state Health Department has been instructed to take stock of its inventory of supplies needed to treat patients.

“We don’t want to be caught off guard like before,” he told a press conference on the coronavirus, referring to the shortage of personal protective equipment when the contagion first emerged in Sarawak.

The state administration will buy items that are running low to ensure adequate supply, he said, adding that random testing will be conducted on those who have been to places visited by known patients.

Individuals in high-risk groups, residents of old folks’ homes and teachers are among those who may be subjected to the screening.

“The state DMC is always trying to be ahead,” said Uggah.

He said one of the committee’s standard operating procedures is that government health facilities are required to conduct Covid-19 screening on people suffering respiratory ailments, such as asthma, as well as cough and throat infection.

Of the 10 new cases, six are imported.

Uggah said six infections were detected in Kuching, and two each in Samarahan and Bintulu.

Of the imported cases, two are Indonesian crew members of the liquefied natural gas tanker Jupiter, which was at a loading call at Bintulu port.

They were ordered to undergo testing after a fellow crewman, also an Indonesian, was found to be positive on Monday.

Uggah said the duo, whose tests returned positive yesterday, are asymptomatic, and that they will be warded at Bintulu Hospital.

The outbreak aboard the tanker, with a crew of 30, is the state’s latest cluster.

Meanwhile, four Sarawakian students – two each from Kuching and Samarahan – returning home from Australia are among the fresh cases.

Two were confirmed to be positive for Covid-19 on their second day of quarantine at a hotel in the state capital, while the other two tested positive on the 10th day of their home quarantine after first returning negative results.

The four students, who are asymptomatic, have been warded at Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching.

Uggah said the earlier SOP for all Sarawakians returning home from overseas to undergo quarantine at designated hotels is back in place.

He added that one of the local cases is an elderly Kuching woman who tested positive after seeking treatment for severe acute respiratory infection at a clinic.

The patient has underlying medical issues, including diabetes and high blood pressure.

Of the other local transmissions, one is in the health workers’ cluster, and the other two patients had undergone testing at a private hospital as a precaution.

Sarawak’s overall coronavirus cases now stand at 594, with 18 deaths. – July 17, 2020.