James Kon

Brunei Darussalam yesterday recorded no fresh COVID-19 cases, however, a fully recovered patient allowed to return home for a further week of self-isolation, has tested positive again.

The patient has been readmitted to the National Isolation Centre in Tutong.

With the recent development, the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) new policy states that recovered patients who have been allowed to return home must undergo a further 14 days of self-isolation at home, and will undertake laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 virus according to the schedule allocated. Previously, discharged patients were required to self-isolate for seven days at home.

Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar revealed this at the press conference yesterday.

He said, “One of the cases that had recovered and was allowed to return home was readmitted to the National Isolation Centre for further investigation because the case started developing symptoms, and has tested positive again.”

In light of the new development, “the Ministry of Health (MoH) is now changing the policy for those who have recovered and been allowed to return home to undergo another 14 days self-isolation at home and will undertake laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 virus according to the schedule allocated. This is a follow-up treatment given to those who had undergone treatment at the National Isolation Centre. Any cases found to be positive will be referred back to the National Isolation Centre for further investigation and treatment.”

“Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, there is no new case of COVID-19 infection in the country. Therefore, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Brunei Darussalam remains at 136 cases.”

Two more cases treated at the National Isolation Centre have recovered and have been allowed to return home, bringing the total number of recoveries to 106 people.

“There are 29 cases still being treated at the National Isolation Centre, two still in critical condition and requiring heart/lung machine (ECMO) and respiratory assistance. Meanwhile, the rest are in a stable condition,” the minister said.

A total of 2,334 individuals have completed their quarantine in accordance to the Infectious Diseases Act (Chapter 204) and only 66 individuals are undergoing quarantine now. As of today, 1,142 individuals have ended their mandatory self-isolation period at the monitoring centres provided by the government upon returning to the country after travelling internationally.

The minister explained that in the past 24 hours, 247 samples have been tested for the virus SARS-CoV-2, bringing the total amount of laboratory tests conducted since January 2020 to 9,884.

Members of the public can visit the official MoH website at www.moh.gov.bn, contact the Health Advice Line 148 (24-hours) or web application healthinfo.gov.bn for information and the latest updates.

According to healthinfo.gov.bn, the breakdown of cases shows 109 in the Brunei-Muara District, 23 in the Belait District and four in the Tutong District. There are no cases in the Temburong District.