KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Malaysia today recorded 1,638 new cases of Covid-19, with the three states of Perak, Selangor and Sarawak collectively accounting for more than two-thirds of such cases, the Health Ministry’s latest data today showed.
Out of the 1,638 new cases, Perak alone accounted for close to one-third or 30.2 per cent with 494 cases, followed by Selangor at 352 cases (21.5 per cent) and Sarawak at 290 cases (17.7 per cent). Together, the three states amount to 69.35 per cent of today’s cases.
The others are Penang at 92 cases, followed by Johor (83), Sabah (73), Kuala Lumpur (67), Kelantan (64), Pahang (35), Negri Sembilan (25), Kedah (20), Melaka (20), Labuan (12), Putrajaya (seven), four in Terengganu and no new cases recorded in Perlis.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 98.4 per cent or 486 cases from Perak’s overall 494 new cases today are from an existing cluster involving factory workers.
This cluster was named Kluster Jalan Pelabuhan in reference to hostels located at Jalan Pelabuhan Utama, Manjung where workers from several factories stay at, with this cluster announced on February 20.
Dr Noor Hisham said the index case or first case in this cluster was first reported on February 13 following screenings of individuals with symptoms, with nine more cases reported on March 30 involving factory workers and their close contacts.
Targeted screening was then carried out on 1,028 factory workers in the hostel area, with 486 of them testing positive, 472 testing negative and 70 samples returning “inconclusive” results, he said.
As of today, a total of 1,312 out of the 1,689 individuals screened have tested positive, which represents a positive rate of 77.7 per cent, he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said this workers’ hostel area in Manjung, Perak is still under an enhanced movement control order (EMCO), with active detection of cases including close contact tracing still ongoing, and those who tested positive have been isolated and given the appropriate treatment.
Almost all of the new cases recorded today or 1,631 were locally-transmitted cases involving 950 Malaysians and 681 non-citizens, with only seven imported cases namely three Malaysians and four non-citizens.
A total of 1,449 cases recovered today, while three new deaths due to Covid-19 were recorded.
One death each was recorded in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysian man aged 68 with diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and chronic kidney disease), Kelantan (Malaysian woman aged 87 with hypertension and dyslipidemia) and Sarawak (Malaysian man aged 50 whose body was brought to the Bintulu Hospital), which brings the death toll due to Covid-19 so far to 1,286.
As of today, a total of 14,432 are active cases or still undergoing treatment for Covid-19, with 167 of them in intensive care units (ICUs) including 81 requiring respiratory support and intubated.
Seven new clusters
A total of 1,395 clusters of Covid-19 cases have been recorded so far in Malaysia, including 1,038 clusters that had ended (including 13 which ended today), and 357 clusters that are still active (including seven new ones recorded today).
The seven new clusters today are four clusters involving transmissions within the community (Sarawak, Johor, Sabah, Melaka), and three clusters involving the workplace (Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Sabah).
The community cluster named Kampung Binyu is the cluster with the second-highest number of cases today, involving a wedding held at this village in Kuching, Sarawak on March 21. Four districts in Sarawak are involved: Kuching, Bintulu, Samarahan and SimunJanuary
The Kampung Binyu cluster involves 68 who have tested positive out of the 231 individuals screened so far. The three index cases were detected on March 30 following a screening of symptomatic individuals.
The Jalan Merdeka cluster involving the Johor Baru district in Johor refers to the residence of the index case at Jalan Merdeka at Kampung Melayu Majidee, Johor Baru.
With the index case first detected on March 27 from screening of symptomatic individuals, a total of 29 out of the 112 individuals screened so far have tested positive under this cluster.
