THREE Covid-19 clusters with six patients were announced today, with two of them involving index patients who initially tested negative upon arrival at KLIA.

Four Malaysians and two foreigners are involved, said Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement.

The first cluster, called the Elsa cluster, involves two foreigners and one Malaysian who were infected by a ship crewman travelling from the Philippines.

The patient stayed overnight at a hotel in Kuantan before being sent to undergo quarantine aboard the ship. He tested positive one week later.

The second cluster, PUI Ramnad, involves two Malaysian family members of the index case patient who tested negative when they arrived in KLIA from India.

The PUI Al Khobar cluster meanwhile consists of a family member of the index case patient, who flew in from Saudi Arabia on July 10. The patient earlier tested negative upon arrival at KLIA.

Noor Hisham said the Elsa index patient had close contact with 108 identified individuals as of noon today.

Three of them tested positive, 48 negative while 57 are still waiting for results.

The ministry has tested six family members and 12 flight passengers from the Ramnad cluster.

All tested negative except for two family members while three are still pending results.

The Al Khobar index patient’s family members have been tested, but only one out of seven tested positive.

The ministry is currently tracing other passengers who share the same flight as the index patient.

All three clusters are imported cases.

Noor Hisham urged travellers who have returned to Malaysia to comply with quarantine rules set out in the Covid-19 Management Guidelines in Malaysia. – July 24, 2020.