THREE major Covid-19 clusters have been identified in Sarawak, where 12 people have died and 306 others infected as of yesterday.

The state’s disaster management committee has, however, described the situation as “still under control”.

As of yesterday, two out of the 31 districts were categorised as “red zones”, defined as places with more than 41 Covid-19 cases.

The red zones are Kuching (188) and Samarahan (52). Kuching also accounts for the highest number of deaths in the state, with seven out of the 12 fatalities.

With 12 deaths to 306 infections, the death rate in the state is 3.92%, higher than the national rate of 1.58%.

Kuching has been the hardest hit, as the state’s three major clusters are all in this district.

Here is a breakdown of the clusters:

Church cluster

This was dubbed by the authorities as the Good News Fellowship Conference church cluster, much to the chagrin of its pastor, Jeff Wei.

Authorities said this cluster has 83 positive cases, currently the highest number of infections.

There were also two deaths from the cluster, according to the Health Ministry’s crisis rreparedness and response centre (CPRC).

Wei, however, is unhappy with the ministry naming the cluster after the church, saying it would harm its image.

A three-day seminar was held at the church from February 26 to 28 with 100 attendees, he told The Malaysian Insight.

Wei said, however, the Health Ministry’s reporting of the cases was done “in a somewhat misleading way”.

“Naming it the Good News Fellowship Conference (GNF) church cluster is misleading as it gave the impression that the church’s 600 faithful were responsible for the spread.

“As a result of this, the public thinks it’s just about GNF and a number of us have received unpleasant and unwarranted attacks,” Wei said.

He said the country’s first Covid-19 death, Pastor David Cheng, has been attributed to this cluster, but Cheng was from another church – Emmanuel Baptist, also in Kuching.

Cheng, officially designated case No. 358, showed symptoms on March 7 and sought treatment at Sarawak General Hospital on March 14.

Cheng, 60, died on March 17. He had participated in the seminar held at Wei’s church.

Following this, about 190 people who came into contact with Cheng from the Emmanuel Baptist and GNF churches were traced and tested.

The ministry stated that 50 people who came into contact with Cheng tested positive and were warded, while another 25 who were asymptomatic were quarantined.

“It was reported that two people died, while in fact, no one from the (GNF) church has died,” Wei told The Malaysian Insight and in a newsletter to his congregation.

Wei also disputed the ministry’s report that five people are critically ill and receiving intensive care.

“As of (April 6), only two persons from GNF are in ICU and they are improving. Two others have been discharged from ICU and are recovering well in normal wards.”

Wei said from the explanations he has been given, the figures reported are based on cases from a large swathe of the city covering the King Centre, Tabuan Jaya, Stutong, Hui Sing and Kg Cemerlang – and not from GNF alone.

He said 600 GNF church members voluntarily undertook Covid-19 tests “as an act of civic duty and social responsibility”, but now face criticism.

“The unwarranted attacks on them could hurt the situation, as others might now not come out to be tested for fear of stigmatisation,” Wei said.

RK family cluster

While state authorities have named it the “RK family cluster”, others have taken to calling it the “RHB cluster” after the workplace of the index case. Some others have called it the “Italian cluster”, as the index case travelled to Italy before infecting others back in Kuching.

In this cluster, three people in a single family died in quick succession from the infection.

According to social media posts of extended family members, close relatives later succumbed to the coronavirus after attending the funeral of the first victim, a 79-year-old woman.

The woman died on March 18 at home, followed by her 40-year-old daughter three days later.

The daughter had worked at RHB bank’s Satok branch.

Her colleague is the index case who travelled to Italy and did not observe self-quarantine at home upon returning to Kuching, according to social media posts.

The elderly mother was admitted to a private hospital on March 16 after several days of high fever and was discharged on March 17. She died the following day, the same day her daughter was admitted to Sarawak General Hospital.

According to the Health Ministry and state disaster management committee, the elderly woman was discharged at the request of her family, who also refused to give permission for her to be put on a ventilator.

Sarawak Minister Dr Sim Kui Hian later revealed that it was not known at the time that she had Covid-19, and that a rapid blood test on the woman showed she was negative for the coronavirus.

The hospital, however, sent her samples to a Kuala Lumpur lab for the more conclusive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Her result came back positive.

Those among the people who performed her pre-burial cleansing ritual were also reportedly infected.

After the deaths of the mother and daughter, the woman’s 49-year-old son also died from the virus on March 23.

Sri Petaling tabligh cluster

The tabligh cluster, which has yielded the majority of cases nationwide, is also considered a major cluster in Sarawak, where about 50 people linked to the religious gathering in the Sri Petaling mosque were infected.

There is one confirmed death in the state from the tabligh cluster: the wife of one of the attendees in Limbang.

The exact number of deaths and infections in the state linked to the cluster has not been ascertained.

A total of 665 people in the state traced to the gathering have been tested. – April 9, 2020.