KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's daily Covid-19 cases breached the 2,000 mark for the first time after the state registered 2,052 new infections Thursday.

       Sabah Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said two workplace-related clusters at the state capital have contributed to the high figure today.

       "The infections at an offshore oil rig involving 209 workers, as well as 109 Hyatt Centric construction site workers, brought the figures in Kota Kinabalu to as high as 635 cases.

       "Penampang came second with 221 cases," he said.

       Masidi noted that several districts also saw an increase of new cases, such as Tawau, which recorded 178 cases compared to 137 on Wednesday (Aug 11), and Tuaran, which recorded 126 infections compared to 83 cases previously.

       "Out of the total 2,052 cases, 914 or 44.5% involved close contacts, and 440 (21.4%) are symptomatic screenings," he added.

       Masidi, who is state Local Government and Housing Minister, had previously said the numbers are expected to remain high until more people are vaccinated, given that SARS-CoV-2 has spread within the community, and infections are no longer in isolated localities.