Malaysia’s new Covid-19 cases rocket to 4,765 including over 2,000 in Selangor alone, record high 39 deaths

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — The Health Ministry recorded 4,765 new Covid-19 cases today, a sharp jump from recent days.

Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Selangor remains at the top as the state with the most infections at 2,082 cases, followed by KL Federal Territory with 540 cases, and Sarawak with 405 cases.

“The state with the fewest infections in Malaysia was Perlis with one case, followed by Putrajaya Federal Territory with four cases, and Labuan Federal Territory with six cases,” he said in a statement.

Yesterday saw 2,848 cases nationwide, while Monday saw 3,454 cases, and Sunday saw 3,211 cases.

Dr Noor Hisham said the highest number of deaths caused by Covid-19 at 39 was aso recorded today, surpassing the previous highest number of 26 deaths recorded on Sunday (May 9)

In total, Malaysia has recorded 453,222 cases of Covid-19, with 40,101 cases still active.

“Of today’s numbers, only seven cases involving five Malaysians and two foreign citizens are import cases in which the infection occurred abroad.

“The remaining 4,758 domestic cases involved 4,291 Malaysians or 90.2 per cent of the total, and 467 foreign citizens, or 9.8 per cent of the total,” Dr Noor Hisham said.

The ministry also detected 20 new clusters today, bringing the total number of clusters to 1,840. Thus far 1,378 clusters have been deemed as ended, leaving 462 still active.

“The genomic surveillance by the Institute of Medical Research on 33 samples from May 3 until May 10 has confirmed 14 new domestic Covid-19 cases are of the South African B.1.351 variant.

“These cases were detected in the states of Kelantan, Kedah, Selangor, dan Negeri Sembilan. Additionally, one case of the Indian B.1.617.2 variant was also detected, the individual in question has since passed away,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham explained that the deceased individual was a foreign citizen who arrived in Malaysia on April 7 after undergoing a Covid-19 test at an international entry point.

“Both tests on April 7 and April 12 were negative. However, the individual tested positive on April 21, and was rushed to the Emergency and Trauma Unit after exhibiting serious symptoms.

“The individual’s health condition continued to deteriorate before passing on May 1,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said that at present there are 62 cases related to the South African B.1.351 variant in Malaysia, and two cases related to the Indian B.1.617 variant, with the sublineages of B.1.617.1 dan B.1.617.2 respectively.

“We have recorded 3,124 recoveries from Covid-19 today, bringing the total number of recoveries to 411,360 cases or 90.8 per cent of the total number of recorded cases in the country.

“As of today, there are 469 cases being treated in Intensive Care Units, with 244 cases requiring breathing assistance,” he said.

On the deaths from Covid-19, Dr Noor Hisham said the 39 fatalities today brings the total number of deaths to 1,761 cases, or 0.39 per cent of the total number of deaths.

“The deceased include 37 Malaysians and two foreign citizens all aged between 43 to 88-years-old, and resided in Putrajaya, Sabah, KL, Perak, Kedah, Sarawak, Selangor, Kelantan, Johor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Sabah.

“All the deceased had a medical history of various ailments, including high-blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, gout, lymphoma, and colorectal cancer,” he said.

On Saturday, the director-general said Putrajaya has detected two Covid-19 variants from the United Kingdom and South Africa, and two variants of interest from Nigeria and India.