KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — The Health Ministry today announced a new Covid-19 cluster in Kedah which it dubbed the Sala Cluster.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the new infection group with three cases was traced to the district of Yan.

"The first case of this cluster (Case 9,148 case) is a Malaysian citizen who was detected to be Covid-19 positive on August 13, 2020 through the Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) clinical surveillance system at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Kedah. Active case detection and close contact screening activities were conducted on August 14,2020 and positive cases were detected on 15 August 2020.

"All three cases reported today are family members to the first case (Case 9,148),” Dr Noor Hisham said.

He said that as of today, 80 of the index patient’s close contacts have been screened; four were found Covid-19 positive, while 76 others are still waiting for their test results.

"All cases for this cluster are Malaysian citizens. Active detection of cases is ongoing and preventive measures and infection control such as cleaning and disinfection processes have been carried out at identified locations. The cause of the infection is still under investigation,” he added. 

The Sala cluster is now Malaysia’s 22nd active Covid-19 cluster.