KUANTAN, June 3 — Two of the three Covid-19 new clusters in Pahang emerged following people making Hari Raya Aidilfitri visits during the celebration recently, said State Health director, Datuk Dr Bahari Che Awang Ngah.

He said the index case of one of the clusters, the Kampung Mat Daling Cluster in Jerantut that was reported on May 25 was a 37-year-old local woman who returned to her village for eight days from May 11.

"This cluster refers to the locality of infection involving family members and villagers who gathered for the Raya celebration. The index case started losing her sense of taste on May 21 before the screening test at a private clinic on May 24 found her to be positive.

"Forty-seven close contacts comprising family members and villagers were then screened with 10 confirmed positive for Covid-19,” he said in a statement today.

Dr Bahari said another cluster linked to Raya, the Batu Hitam Cluster, referred to the locality of a workplace where the index case, a local man, aged 52, worked at a factory in Gebeng, here.

"The man started having the symptom of fever on May 14 and confirmed positive on May 21. Further investigation found him having visited his family living nearby another family on the first day of Raya.” he said, adding that 80 people were screened in this cluster with 39 of them found to be positive.

Dr Bahari said another new cluster, Gebeng Industry Cluster that started on May 28 and out of the 70 individuals screened, 25 were found to be positive.

He said the 135 additional new cases today brought the total number in Pahang to 10,139, including 1,784 active cases.

Seven districts recorded increase in cases with Jerantut recording the highest with 72, followed by Kuantan (40), Lipis (10), Bentong (nine), Cameron Highlands (two) and one each in Maran and Bera.

Meanwhile, 25 patients are being treated at the intensive care unit of Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital here and Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital, Temerloh, with 16 of them requiring ventilators. — Bernama