KUCHING: Two frontliners working at the Sarawak-Sabah border in Merapok, Lawas, were confirmed to be positive with Covid-19.
The cases brings the overall number of Covid-19 cases in Sarawak to 706.
A Sarawak Disaster Management Committee Secretariat spokesman said both cases involved Malaysian men, who work as frontliners manning the Sarawak-Sabah Border Post in Merapok.
"They were screened on Sept 20, 2020, for suspected contact with a Covid-19 positive case while on duty at the border post.
"Their samples were sent to the Kota Kinabalu Public Health Laboratory in Sabah and a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rT–PCR) test conducted on Sept 26, 2020, found their screening samples to be positive for Covid-19," the spokesman said in a statement today.
He said one of the two men had displayed early symptoms of Covid-19 infection on Sept 7, 2020, while the other man was asymptomatic.
"The duo were referred to the Miri Hospital today for further treatment and initial investigation revealed they both did not have any history of overseas travel or visiting any red zones in Sabah.
"The cause of their infection is still being investigated, and initial checks point toward a possibility of them getting the infection while on duty as frontliner at the border post," he said.