Page 90 - MALAYSIA HEALTH SECTOR RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE FIELD

Prison clusters in other states

COVID-19 cases have also been reported in other prisons in Peninsular
Malaysia. These include prisons in Kedah, Perak, Penang, Selangor, Negeri
Sembilan and Johor.

The Tembok Cluster
The Tembok (literal translation as “Wall”) Cluster was announced on the
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30th of September 2020 . The Tembok Cluster started when two close
contacts of the Alor Setar prison's index case, who had passed away in
Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital and tested positive on 28th September 2020,
were also found to be positive . Subsequently, targeted screening among
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the prison personnel, their families, and inmates was done in stages. Alor
Setar prison is a detention prison where the inmates were held before being
transferred to the other two prisons: Pokok Sena prison and Sungai Petani
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prison after being sentenced by court . Consequently, efforts were made
by the health department to trace back those inmates who were being
transferred out from Alor Setar prison to the other two prisons 14 days
before the cluster was announced. This measure was brilliant because it
was able to trace back early cases in both the other two prisons and
minimise the further spread of the infection among the inmates. The
Tembok Cluster involved Pokok Sena prison and Sungai Petani prison.

Figure 4.5: Chain of transmission in Tembok Cluster, as of 2nd October 2020
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(Source: Telegram National CPRC , Ministry of Health)

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