THE Benteng Lahad Datu cluster, which saw a significant spike in new cases for the second day running, has not spread to the community, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.

He said the cluster has been contained within the Lahad Datu district police station and Tawau prison, similar to the previous cluster detected at the Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Centre, which saw 200 cases in a single day in June.

“What is more important is we tighten our borders and step up efforts to trace undocumented migrants,” he said in his weekly briefing in Putrajaya today.

Noor Hisham said it is important to curb the entry of undocumented foreigners through illegal routes to prevent further spread.

The index cases of the cluster were two undocumented migrant detained at the Lahad Datu police station and later tested positive for Covid-19.

Thus far, a total of 2,010 people were screened in Lahad Datu and Tawau for this cluster.

There were 87 cases detected in Lahad Datu and 41 in Tawau.

As for the Sungai cluster in Kedah, which originated at a private healthcare facility, Noor Hisham said investigations are still ongoing.

He said 16 healthcare staff were tested positive for Covid-19 and one had gone to seven family members.

On that note, he advised healthcare staff to take the necessary precautions including donning protective personal equipment when attending to patients as some could be asymptomatic.

The cluster was detected after a symptomatic healthcare worker was tested positive for Covid-19 on September 5. Another staff who was a close contact of the index patient was also tested positive for the coronavirus. – September 8, 2020.