KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — Malaysia today recorded its most ever new Covid-19 cases in a single day with 9,180 cases, surpassing the 9,020 from slightly more than about a month ago on May 29.

This is only the second time in the country’s history that new Covid-19 numbers have exceeded 9,000 cases in a 24-hour period.

Today’s figure also comes after 8,868 new Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday — at that time the country’s second highest number but now the third highest number in a day.

Out of the 9,180 new Covid-19 cases today, almost half or about 48 per cent were recorded in Selangor with 4,400 cases.

If Kuala Lumpur’s 1,271 new cases and Selangor’s 4,400 cases are combined, both would account for about 62 per cent of the nation’s record high cases today. Add in Negri Sembilan with 899 cases, and these three locations would account for almost 72 per cent of today’s cases.

The rest recorded today are Kedah (417), Sarawak (406), Sabah (323), Johor (315), Perak (241), Melaka (222), Pahang (214), Kelantan (151), Penang (142), followed by Terengganu (82), Labuan (80), Putrajaya (16) and one case in Perlis.

Selangor, where nearly all of its areas are now under an enhanced movement control order (EMCO), had also contributed to almost half or about 47 per cent of the total 8,868 cases reported yesterday. The state recorded 4,152 cases yesterday.

Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had yesterday said the sharp spike in new Covid-19 cases being detected in the state was due to ongoing mass Covid-19 testing in all areas under the EMCO.

On May 28, the government announced that Malaysia would be placed under a total lockdown from June 1 for two weeks.

This total lockdown or Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan was later extended for another two weeks until June 28, and has to date continued on in many states in Malaysia.

So far, five states — Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Terengganu and Perlis have already moved into Phase 2 from July 5 onwards and Penang had similarly done the same on July 7, while Sabah will be the next to shift to this phase with more relaxed rules from tomorrow (July 10) onwards.

On July 1, the government announced a list of mukim in eight of nine Selangor districts and 14 localities in Kuala Lumpur that would be placed under EMCO from July 3 to July 16.