KUALA TERENGGANU - The cholera outbreak in Terengganu has taken a turn for the worse with the number of patients hospitalised shooting up to 223 yesterday, 132 of them confirmed cases.

Health authorities have closed for two weeks five eateries and five ice factories suspected of being the source of the spread of the disease, which has claimed one life so far.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Sirlin the number of confirmed cases had shot up more than 10 fold in just a day. "On Sunday, there were only 11 confirmed cases."

Rosnah said members of the public could obtain inoculations at the nearest government hospitals or clinics.

The owner of one of the affected ice factories said the department had ordered all 120 of his employees to be inoculated. He expected to lose $4125 daily from the closure.