Google Translation:
Dili, 28 Feb 2020 (Lusa) – Timorese authorities announced today that they had identified a second outbreak of covid-19 contagion in the border area, with two more cases detected in a second village in the region.
Coordinator of the covid-19 prevention and mitigation team of the Situation Room of the Integrated Center for Crisis Management (IGC), Rui Araújo, told journalists that the two new cases, adding to a first announced on Saturday , confirm the new spotlight in the village of Onu-Laran, of only 373 inhabitants, located in the juice [local administrative division] of Maudemo, Tilomar’s administrative post.
′′ The cases now confirmed mean that there are currently two clusters in this region of the country, in one of two municipalities currently still under sanitary fence.
The two new cases in Onu-Laran were detected after nearly 50 samples were collected in connection with the contact tracing of the first infected patient detected in the area on Saturday.
Thus, after seven cases in the village of Clau Halec, Belulik Leten juice and Fatumean administration post, there are three positive cases in the village of Onu-Laran.
Since the case focus was detected, surveillance teams have already conducted more than 90 tests in three villages – Clau Halec and Belulic Cra ‘ ic in Fatumean, and Onu-Laran – and in Suai village, the capital of the municipality.
′′ The two confirmed cases today are familiar with the first case, the agricultural extensionista, which had been confirmed infected on Saturday “, Araújo explained, noting that six other family members came back negative on the tests carried out.
An extensionist is a civil servant in the agriculture sector who supports agricultural extension initiatives in the administration.
Although one of the infected was a young fifth grader at Salele’s Central Basic School, Tilomar, Rui Araújo called on the school community to ′′ not panic ′′ and contacts are already being followed and tested.
′′ The fact that there is a positive student does not mean that the virus has spread to other students. Example of this is the fact that in family testing there were eight negative results and only two positives “, said.
In addition to collecting samples from colleagues and teachers who contacted the student more regularly, authorities will conduct random tests at school to confirm whether or not there have been more contagions.
Rui Araújo explained that the extensionist had contact with nearly 30 colleagues from work and 12 families, with all these people having had negative results in their tests.
With the two new cases detected today and the recovery of a patient who was infected at the isolation center in Dili, Timor-Leste currently has 23 active cases of covid-19, racking up 112 since the beginning of the pandemic.
In the last three days, 25 people have entered the border regularly, adding 11 more who have entered irregularly, all have been driven to quarantine.
In addition to cases detected in the two clusters at the border, there has been no further contagion identified among thousands of mass tests carried out in recent weeks in Bobonaro, Covalima and the Oecusse-Ambeno Special Administrative Region (RAEA).
ASP // JMC
Lusa / End
