James Kon
Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar yesterday urged the public not to panic over the massive spike in COVID-19 cases, during a press conference yesterday.
Brunei Darussalam recorded 1,125 local COVID-19 cases, the minister shared, bringing the national tally of confirmed cases to 21,579. No COVID-19 related deaths were reported.
Among the active cases, 99.8 per cent are cases in Category 1 (asymptomatic) and Category 2 (mild symptoms). Three cases are in Category 4, requiring oxygen assistance and are under close monitoring. The cases are all aged over 60 and have multiple health issues. One case has had three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, another double-dosed while the other has not been vaccinated. No Category 5 cases have been reported.
“One case, aged 16, is in recovery and was downgraded from Category 4 to 3 two days ago,” said the minister. No children aged 12 and below are in Categories 3, 4 and 5.
“The new cases were detected through 6,127 laboratory tests performed in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, 281 cases have recovered, bringing the tally of recovered cases to 16,891 and the number of active cases at 4,586,” said the minister.
Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham also shared, “As of February 11, over 94 per cent of the populace had received at least one of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 45.1 per cent had been boosted under the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.”
He said the high vaccination rate for two doses and the low number of Category 4 and 5 cases are in line with findings from studies conducted worldwide, that a third dose of the vaccine provides additional protection against the severe effects of COVID-19. The elderly and those with chronic illnesses are strongly encouraged to get booster shots.
The bed occupancy rate in isolation centres nationwide is 27.4 per cent, with 650 active cases. Meanwhile, 3,936 cases are undergoing isolation at home.
The minister also revealed that there are currently 80 active clusters. The new clusters involve businesses or public places, while the rest are residential clusters.
On the control measure from midnight to 4am, the minister said, “Alhamdulillah, no violations of the nationwide directive were detected.”
Permanent Secretary at the MoH Haji Maswadi bin Haji Mohsin was also present at the
press conference.
