All three deaths in Sabah

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded 374 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday (Oct 10), with three deaths reported.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said all three deaths were recorded in Sabah.

Two men aged 61 and 51 years old respectively and a 54-year-old woman were the latest casualties.

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Dr Noor Hisham said Sabah recorded 277 cases, making it the most number of infections from the total number of cases recorded on Saturday.

This is followed by Selangor (44 cases), Kedah (27 cases from the Tembok, or prison, cluster), Kuala Lumpur (four cases) and Putrajaya (one case).

From the 374 cases, only two were imported cases from the Philippines. The country’s total number of infections is now at 15,096 cases with 4,161 active cases.

Dr Noor Hisham also said there were six new clusters reported – four in Selangor, and one each in Sabah and Sarawak.

Thus far, 73 patients are also being treated at intensive care units (ICU) with 28 requiring ventilator support.

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The cumulative number of recovered cases now stands at 10,780.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has closed all schools in Sabah until October 25 as a precaution given the state’s critical Covid-19 situation.

The ministry said it made the decision following a meeting of a special National Security Council meeting specifically on Sabah.

“Seeing that (Covid-19) cases in the state are still rising, the meeting agreed that the Education Ministry should evaluate the need to close all schools in the state.

“Consequently, the ministry has decided to close all schools in Sabah from October 10 until October 25,” the ministry said in a statement.

However, it said students in boarding schools must remain at their respective hostels but gave its assurance that school administrators would cater fully to the students’ needs and wellbeing.

Classes would also shift online for the period.

Sabah has become the epicentre of the country’s third wave of Covid-19 cases, with hundreds of cases reported daily.

The rise in cases there has also been accompanied by a worrying increase in Covid-19 deaths, with six reported on Friday alone.