KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Pekan in Pahang and Putrajaya are now officially Covid-19 orange zones or hotspots that are just one category below red zones, while the widespread Covid-19 outbreak nationwide sees Malaysia reduced to only 34 districts that are free of reported infections, the latest data released today from the Health Ministry shows.

Based on the latest figures as of March 29 noon, there are now 12 orange zones nationwide or Covid-19 hotspots with at least 20 cases, due to official confirmation of two new orange zones in the Health Ministry’s own maps.

Federal territory Putrajaya with its 22 cases has now been marked orange, while Pekan which had 18 cases on March 28 but added on two more cases on March 29 has now crossed over to become an orange zone.

What is the significance of being an orange zone? Well, it only takes several cases for an area to tip over and be recategorised as a red zone.

According to the Health Ministry’s designation of hotspots, districts with the colour code orange are those where between 20 and 40 Covid-19 cases have been recorded, while those known as the red zones are where more than 40 cases have been reported.

As of March 29 noon, the number of Covid-19 cases in the 12 orange zones are as follows: Batu Pahat in Johor (36), Lahad Datu in Sabah (34), Kota Kinabalu in Sabah (30), Seberang Perai Tengah in Penang (30), Kuala Muda in Kedah (30), Cheras in Kuala Lumpur (28), Timur Laut in Penang (27), Jerantut in Pahang (27), Rembau in Negri Sembilan (26), Putrajaya (22), Kota Setar in Kedah (22), Pekan in Pahang (20).

No new red zones

Thankfully, there were no new red zones added on March 29. Malaysia still has 15 red zones, the last figure recorded on March 26.

But the number of cases in Covid-19 red zones nationwide has continued to grow, with the most severe areas still in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

As of March 29 noon, the number of cases in the 15 red zones are: Petaling Jaya (223), Lembah Pantai (219), Hulu Langat (209), Seremban (108), Johor Bahru (105), Kluang (97), Kuching (78), Kota Bahru (76), Kinta (75), Kepong (68), Klang (62), Gombak (59), Titiwangsa (57), Tawau (57) and Hilir Perak (52).

Altogether these 15 red zones account for 1,545 cases, or slightly more than 60 per cent of all the 2,470 Covid-19 cases in Malaysia as of March 29 noon.

Although being designated as a red zone does not necessarily mean more restrictions of movement, the government has stepped up controls in a total of nine villages — with a high concentration of Covid-19 cases — in two red zones. 

The March 27 to April 9 enhanced movement of control order (MCO) applies to two villages in Simpang Renggam, Kluang, Johor, as they contributed to 61 out of 83 Covid-19 cases in red zone Kluang, while the March 30 to April 13 enhanced MCO applies to seven villages in red zone Hulu Langat after 74 positive Covid-19 cases out of 274 residents of a tahfiz school in the area was recorded.

The last 34  

In the whole of Malaysia now, there are only 34 districts that are free of Covid-19 cases as of March 29, down from the initial 39 districts in seven states on March 25.

The figure had continued to fall over the days, with the districts free of Covid-19 falling to 36 on March 26 and further falling to 35 districts on March 28.

As of March 29, there are only six states left that have at least one district with zero Covid-19 cases, as Pahang lost its last zero-case district on this day when Rompin recorded its first case.

The Covid-19 death toll in Malaysia now stands at 35.