Mengketil Cluster in Kelantan raises concerns - Health DG
COVID-19 | A conditional movement control order (CMCO) was imposed on Kelantan because the authorities are concerned with the trend of how the virus is spreading in the state.
Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (above) said a major concern there is the Mengketil Cluster, which so far registered 45 positive cases including three new cases today.
"Our concern now is with the Mengketil Cluster because, in just a short period...
COVID-19 | A conditional movement control order (CMCO) was imposed on Kelantan because the authorities are concerned with the trend of how the virus is spreading in the state.
Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (above) said a major concern there is the Mengketil Cluster, which so far registered 45 positive cases including three new cases today.
"Our concern now is with the Mengketil Cluster because, in just a short period, it has spread to several districts in Kelantan, and crossed to the Besut district in Terengganu.
"So, we took proactive and preemptive measures," he told reporters today.
The five districts in Kelantan affected by the Mengketil Cluster are Kota Bharu, Machang, Tanah Merah, Kuala Krai, and Pasir Mas.
The cluster was announced to the public three days ago (Nov 17). It was traced back to the index case who tested positive on Nov 13, after being admitted to a hospital in Kelantan for severe acute respiratory illnesses.
According to Noor Hisham, 41 cases linked to the cluster were detected across several districts within just five days.
He said the health ministry has yet to send samples of the virus from the Mengketil Cluster for research, but he did not dismiss the possibility that it could be of a strain that has mutated and has a high infectivity rate.
He added that it could also be because the infection had already been spreading for a while but the virus was still in its incubation phase.
Earlier today, the government announced its decision to impose a CMCO on Kelantan for 14 days, starting tomorrow until Dec 6.
Noor Hisham said the CMCO was not imposed on Kelantan previously because the number of cases there were low.
On Nov 3, the state only recorded eight cases across three districts. However, the number jumped to 73 on Nov 19, across eight out of 10 districts there.
Besides Mengketil, the state also has six more active clusters, namely the Ikhtisas, Cergas, Kube, Kaya, Simera, and Jalan Meru Clusters.
Asked whether he has any advice for the people of Kelantan, Noor Hisham reiterated the health ministry's mantra that members of the public should stay at home unless it is really necessary for them to go out.
If they have to go out, individuals in the state were advised to strictly follow all standard operating procedures on Covid-19 prevention, including wearing a face mask, maintaining physical distancing, and always washing hands.
"We hope that by between two to three weeks, we can flatten the curve," he said.
Report this comment
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.