BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Brunei reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday following preliminary tests, bringing the country's total to 37 cases.
According to Brunei's Ministry of Health, among the 12 new cases, three are children and 9 are adults. Eleven of the new cases were found to be linked to the same religious gatherings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Brunei's first confirmed patient.
The Ministry of Health also said that all cases are being treated at the National Quarantine Center at Tudong District and are in a good and stable condition without suffering fever and requiring no breathing assistance for the time being.
The ministry added that all 75 locals who joined the religious gatherings in Kuala Lumpur and currently located in Brunei have undergone laboratory tests for COVID-19. Of them, 18 are positive, 51 negative while six are still awaiting results. So far, a total of 523 people have been ordered to undergo quarantine.
A 53-year-old local man tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday after returning to the country from Kuala Lumpur on March 3. He possibly contracted the virus there during the religious mass gatherings from Feb. 28 to March 1, which were reportedly attended by about 16,000 people.
