KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's daily Covid-19 cases climbed slightly to 1,352 new cases on Wednesday (March 9) after recording a downward trend over the past week.

       Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Masidi Manjun said there was an increase in new cases amid concerns over continuing indications of community spread.

       "The relatively large increase in the number of cases in some districts that recorded double-digit cases is a clear signal that there will be an increase in new cases in the near future," he said in his daily briefing.

       He said 15 districts recorded an increase in new cases with three of them recording a significant increase - Kota Kinabalu (81 new cases), Tuaran (31 cases) and Lahad Datu (27 cases).

       He said the percentage of sporadic cases remained high with 60.65% in 22 of the 27 districts in Sabah.

       "This is a clear sign that Sabah has not yet reached a stable phase. We expect a sharp fluctuation in the number of daily cases," he said, adding that 12 districts recorded a daily drop in cases.

       Tuaran again recorded three-figure cases (113 cases) as well as Kota Kinabalu (365), Penampang (119) and Papar (111), he said.

       Double-digit infections, meanwhile, were recorded in 18 districts while only five districts - Kinabatangan, Kunak, Telupid, Kalabakan and Semporna - recorded single-digit daily cases.

       A total of 1,340 or 99.12% of the 1,352 new cases Wednesday were in Category 1 and 2, three cases in Category 3, seven cases in Category 4 and two cases in Category 5, Masidi said.