Sarawak nearly HFM-free

Star: MIRI: Sarawak will seek the approval of the Health Ministry to declare the state free of hand, foot and mouth disease.
State Disaster Relief Committee chairman Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said the number of new cases detected daily throughout the state was below 50 for the past two weeks and there have been no new serious cases or fatalities for a long time.
“We will check with the Health Ministry whether we can declare the state free from this epidemic.
“There are not many cases around anymore. No serious cases have been reported for quite sometime now and no more schools or kindergartens closed.
“The highest number of cases was on Feb 28 when 330 cases were recorded in a single day,” he said yesterday.
Dr Chan said 36 new cases were detected yesterday, and none were serious.
Throughout Sarawak, only 30 people remain warded but none of them are critical, he said, adding that the number of deaths stood at nine.
From the onset of the epidemic in early January until yesterday, 8,894 confirmed HFM cases were recorded statewide.
The regions worst hit were Sibu Division with 2,324 cases, followed by Miri Division, Kuching Division and Bintulu Division, Dr Chan added.