KOTA KINABALU: A new cluster involving a hostel student in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) saw Sabah’s cases spike to 232 cases Tuesday (Dec 14).

       State Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said that the index case of the Puncak Ilmu cluster was a male student living at the hostel.

       He said that a total of 40 students and UMS staff in close contact with the student were also tested positive for Covid-19.

       He said the new cluster was the key contributor to Tuesday's 232 cases that showed an increase of 51 new cases as compared to 181 positive cases on Monday (Dec 13).

       However, he said that 215 new patients were under Category 1 and 2 of the infection, while four patients were placed under Category 3, three patients under Category 4 and none were under the most severe infection, which is category 5.

       Ten other cases are still under evaluation by the state health authority.