KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 — Covid-19 cases in the country have kicked into a higher gear as Malaysia registers 4,498 new cases today.

The last time Malaysia recorded more than 4,000 cases of Covid-19 in a day was February 4 this year when the country declared that 4,571 cases were discovered.

In a tweet, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah shared that cases in Selangor surpassed the 1,000-mark, recording 1,424 new Covid-19 cases.

Sarawak recorded the second highest number of new Covid-19 cases at 750, with Kuala Lumpur following behind with 436 new cases.

Remaining states recording new Covid-19 cases are Johor (327), Penang (313), Kelantan (297), Kedah (209), Negri Sembilan (188), Sabah (153), Perak (148), Terengganu (87), Pahang (78), Melaka (74), Putrajaya (eight), Perlis (four) and Labuan (two).

Dr Noor Hisham added that 506 cases are being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) — the highest number of patients being treated in the unit since the beginning of the pandemic.

"There are currently 506 cases being treated in the ICU including 372 positive cases — with 211 intubation cases. The remaining (134) cases are cases that are still suspected of Covid-19 and are still waiting for the results from the lab.

"Suspected and probable cases are also treated using the same infection prevention and control procedures used to treat positive Covid-19 patients in the ICU or critical care,” said Dr Noor Hisham.

Meanwhile Dr Noor Hisham added that 22 people have also died from Covid-19 today, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the country to 1,632.

"All but two of the deaths today involved locals. They were all between the ages of 37 and 87, with the majority of them having a prior history of pre-existing health conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure,” he said.

On a positive note, Dr Noor Hisham said that 3,449 recoveries were recorded today, bringing the total number of recoveries from Covid-19 in the country to 396,004.

19 more Covid-19 clusters were also discovered in the last 24 hours, with 10 of them involving workplaces, four found in communities, three related to religious places and two involving educational institutes.

"12 existing clusters have also come to an end today, bringing the number of clusters that have ended in the country to 1,334.

"This brings the number of clusters currently active to 425,” said Dr Noor Hisham.

The new clusters are being called the Persiaran Perpaduan USJ, Jalan Nouvelle, Jalan Manjalara Idaman, Jalan Udang Harimau, Jalan Besar Pasir Mas, Blok D Jalan Pending, Jalan Kempas Pagoh, Ladang LSP, Jalan Perusahaan Empat, Jalan PKAK Ayer Keroh, Pulau Ketam, Penurin, Kampung Kochang, Dah Lengkuas, Jalan Limbang, Beladin, Dah Utama, Jalan Pahlawan Empat and Jalan Midah Besar clusters.