BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Brunei reported one new imported case of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the national tally to 148.
According to Brunei's Ministry of Health, the case is a 40-year-old man arriving on Oct. 16 from Kuala Lumpur. The man reportedly had signs of infection (coughs) on Thursday and is currently being treated at the National Isolation Center.
The Ministry of Health has identified a total of 18 contacts, of which 10 contacts have undergone the COVID-19 swab tests and were confirmed negative while the rest are still awaiting test results. All contacts are undergoing quarantine.
This is the second confirmed case reported in Brunei this month. Brunei reported another imported case on Oct. 14, who is a 25-year-old female back from Nepal.
With the detection of this latest case, a total of seven imported cases have been confirmed since the last local infection case on May 6. At present, Brunei has recorded 169 days without COVID-19 local infection case.
Meanwhile, 295 individuals are currently undergoing mandatory self-isolation at the monitoring centers provided by the government, who have arrived at the country after traveling abroad.
There have been three deaths that resulted from COVID-19 in Brunei and a total of 143 patients have recovered.
The Ministry of Health reminded the public to practice their social responsibilities by maintaining personal hygiene, practicing proper cough and sneeze etiquette, wearing a face mask in crowded public places and if feeling unwell, not going to public places or attending social gatherings.
The Ministry of Health also said it will continue to monitor the situation of the outbreak at the national as well as regional and global levels and carry out ongoing risk assessments to consider further mitigation measures.
"If the outbreak situation becomes alarming yet again, the Ministry of Health will not hesitate to tighten the social distancing measures that need to be taken to control the outbreak," the ministry added. Enditem
