KOTA KINABALU: Sabah aims to raise its Covid-19 vaccination rate to 50,000 doses a day this month in order to achieve herd immunity.
State Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said with 1,166 new cases today, which is the highest single day tally this year, vaccination has to be expedited.
He said close contacts continue to be the largest contributor with 674 cases or 57.8 per cent of the caseload, an indication that many people are already susceptible to Covid-19 infection.
"In this situation where the virus has spread deep into the community and is very widespread, lockdown is no longer an effective method to curb its transmission.
"What needs to be done is to expedite vaccination among the community.
"Sabah received a large supply of vaccines in the third week of July. From July 21 to July 31, the Sabah Health Department has successfully dispensed 374,214 doses of the vaccine.
"We hope to achieve 50,000 doses a day in August," he said in a statement today.
Masidi added that the rise of Covid-19 cases also shows the people's negligence and non-compliance with the standard operating procedures.
"Out of 1,166 cases, 18.2 per cent or 213 cases have been vaccinated, with 121 having received their first jab of the vaccine and 92 having completed both doses.
"A total of 26.1 per cent (304 cases) were associated with those who did not qualify for the vaccine, while 55.7 per cent (649 cases) comprised those still waiting for their turn for vaccinations.
"The breakdown of figures by age also shows that the active group aged between 18 and 59 recorded the highest number of cases with 793 cases. This was followed by people aged 60 to 71 with 215 cases.
"Today's cases also showed that infection among people who should be given more attention by family members. This included 19 cases of infants aged one year and below, 70 cases of children aged between one to 5 years, and 69 cases of the elderly," he said.
Masidi said one new cluster was identified today, namely the Sibulu cluster in Tenom which involved workplace infections at a hydro construction site in Mukim Kuala Tomani, stemming from a 46-year-old man.
"The patient, a foreigner, was having symptoms since July 24 and was confirmed positive at the TMC Tenom Clinic on July 27.
"He was admitted to a public quarantine Low-risk Treatment Centre (PKRC) for further treatment.
"Of the 114 samples taken, 55 were positive. A total of 54 samples were negative while five more samples are still awaiting results," he said.
The state also registered 580 recoveries (cumulatively 78,093), and three deaths in Kota Kinabalu.