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1 Utama Cluster : 132 COVID-19 Cases, Index Case Identified!

Dr. Adrian Wong

The 1 Utama Cluster has ballooned to 132 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 105 new cases reported today.

Find out what MOH just revealed about the 1 Utama Cluster’s index case, and the latest details!

 

MOH On 1 Utama COVID-19 Cluster : 132 Confirmed Cases

At around 7 PM today, Malaysia DG of Health, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, announced that the 1 Utama Cluster recorded 105 new cases today, raising the total to 132 total cases.

The Malaysia Ministry of Health also “settled” the dispute between 1 Utama Shopping Centre and JPBD Petaling when they released details of the 1 Utama Cluster.

The Index Case : A Security Guard

The 1 Utama Cluster was first reported on 10 October 2020, and the index case was identified as Case 15023 – a 28 year-old Nepalese male who worked as a security guard in the 1 Utama Shopping Centre.

He started experiencing fever, cough and a flu since 22 September 2020, and tested positive for COVID-19 on 8 October 2020 through contact tracing.

Initially, MOH suspected Case 12549 as the index case, but further investigation showed that Case 15023 had symptoms earlier.

Confirmed Cases : 132 Positive Cases

The Malaysia Ministry of Health announced that the 1 Utama Cluster had 132 positive cases, as of 12 PM on 15 October 2020, consisting of :

We should point out that being cases are classified as being part of the 1 Utama Cluster if they can be traced to the index case – in this case, the Nepalese security guard.

It does not mean that all of those infections took place within 1 Utama.

Even those who never been to the mall will be classified as part of the 1 Utama Cluster if their infection can be traced to that index case, or those he infected.

Based on what JPBD Petaling revealed earlier today, and what was reported earlier, here is the list of affected outlets in 1 Utama :

  1. Mac City Service Centre
  2. Parkson Elite, Cosmetic & Perfume Department
  3. Teh Tarik Place
  4. Daiso
  5. C&C Cookies

According to MOH, 1 Utama Shopping Centre was closed from 11 until 16 October 2020 for sanitisation and cleaning, and will be allowed to reopen on 17 October 2020.

Screening Count : 447 Screening Tests Done

Interestingly, MOH reported that only 447 individuals were screened as of 12 PM, 15 October 2020 :

1 Utama claimed to have conducted 6,000 screening tests at their own expense. It is possible that they conducted concurrent screening tests with MOH’s screening tests.

Perhaps, they ran the faster and cheaper antigen-based rapid test kits (RTK) on the bulk of cases, while MOH ran their RT-PCR swab tests on the highest-risk cases.

1 Utama COVID-19 Cluster : Thou Doth Protest Too Fast

It appears 1 Utama Shopping Centre may have protested too fast the report by JPBD Petaling.

They insisted that JPBD Petaling was wrong in counting the security guards tested positive at their dormitories, and that no index case has been identified as originating from 1 Utama.

They also quietly refused to acknowledge or add infected shoppers to their own count of confirmed cases, insisting that they only had 21 + 1 cases.

Well, their protests have been all but defanged by what MOH revealed today.

Not only has that security guard they called a +1 been identified as the index case for the 1 Utama Cluster, MOH themselves counted both security guards and shoppers as part of the cluster.

To add insult to injury, MOH announced that 105 new cases were identified today, with another 46 individuals awaiting results.

Perhaps the 1 Utama team should have waited until they knew more, before protesting that JPBD Petaling got their facts wrong…

It will be interesting to see how they respond. Will they issue a contrite correction? Or will they quietly delete their post, just like what DBKL did recently…?

1 Utama COVID-19 Cluster : Should You Be Concerned?

These shopping mall infections reinforce the importance of contact tracing, and the MySejahtera app which logs the movements of its users.

While shopping malls and all other public premises offer physical logbooks, we highly recommend that you use MySejahtera, because it allows for easier and faster contact tracing.

Using MySejahtera also obviates the need to sign a physical logbook, which usually means using a shared pen – an unnecessary risk factor.

If you happen to be in close contact with any infected employees in 1 Utama, you will be contacted and asked to self-quarantine and undergo a COVID-19 screening test.

COVID-19 is easily destroyed by soap, so the deep cleaning operation will definitely clean the mall of any infectious particles.

More importantly, face masks greatly reduce the risk of infection. That’s why it is critical for everyone to wear a face mask in public.

 

COVID-19 : How To Keep Safe!

Here are a few simple steps to stay safe from COVID-19 :

Recommended : COVID-19 : Hand Sanitiser or Soap? Which Is Better?
Recommended : Surgical Mask : How To CORRECTLY Wear + Remove!
Recommended : Grocery Shopping Safety During COVID-19
Recommended : COVID-19 Food Safety : Fruits, Vegetables, Takeouts

 

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