WITH only 37 Covid-19 cases reported in the last 14 days, Kuching, the state’s only red zone district and area under the conditional movement-control order (CMCO), has moved down one notch into the orange zone.

Apart from the Miri and Lawas districts in northern Sarawak, which remain in the yellow zone, the remaining 37 of the state’s 40 districts are in the green zone.

Sibu district’s green status took a little blow when the state’s two positive cases detected today were in the district.

The state disaster management committee reported the two new cases involving oil and gas workers, who had been left stranded in Romania after their employers did not pay them their salaries.

They tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday while undergoing their 14-day quarantine in Sibu.

The two cases have been designated as foreign imported cases.

The disaster management committee said the two workers, whose return was arranged by Putrajaya, the Sarawak government and the Malaysian embassy in Bucharest, departed Romania on November 8.

On arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) the next day, they were sent into a 14-day quarantine.

During quarantine, they each took one reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or rt-PCR test on November 10, and one rapid test kit-antigen test (RTK) on the day of their release.

Both returned negative results.

However, they tested positive in a rT-PCR test during a second round of quarantine after arriving at Sibu airport this week.

Sarawak’s rules require anyone arriving in the state to be quarantined for 14 days.

This third test showed that both were infected. – November 25, 2020.