Covid-19 cases slide back to 3 digits with 660 infections, 4 deaths

PUTRAJAYA: The health ministry has reported 660 Covid-19 cases and four deaths in the past 24 hours.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there were 630 recoveries, bringing the total number of those discharged to 37,254.

In a press conference, Noor Hisham said the 660 cases bring the total number of infections in the country to 50,390.

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Meanwhile, the four deaths bring the toll to 322.

Sabah recorded the highest number of local cases today with 387 cases, followed by Selangor with 139.

Out of the 173 Klang Valley cases, 77 were from clusters.

Of the cases today, 171 were from prisons or temporary detention centres, mostly from the Tawau temporary detention centre cluster with 135 cases. Meanwhile, the GK Tawau cluster recorded 12 cases, and the Tembok cluster affecting Perak and Kedah reported nine cases.

Other prison clusters reporting new cases today were the Matambai (four), Rumah Merah (four), and the Sandakan Prison (one) clusters from Sabah, and the Seberang Perai Prison (six) cluster from Penang.

The other new cases reported today were in Negeri Sembilan (31), Kuala Lumpur (29), Penang (16), Perak (16), Labuan (13), Kedah (11), Melaka (four), Sarawak (three), Johor (three), Kelantan (three) and Putrajaya (one).

Of the four deaths recorded today, two involved Malaysian women from Perak, one Malaysian man and one foreign woman from Sabah. They were aged between 59 and 80.

There are currently 12,814 active cases, with 103 patients in intensive care, of which 41 require respiratory assistance.

Terengganu and Pahang are the only states that did not record any new Covid-19 infections today.

There were four imported cases: Two Malaysians and two foreigners who entered the country from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and India.

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The health ministry has detected eight new Covid-19 clusters in the country over the last 24 hours.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said they are the Sabaru, Tomher and Garden clusters in Sabah; Putra-18 cluster involving Putrajaya and Selangor; Murni cluster involving Selangor and Kuala Lumpur; Seri Pasir cluster in Penang; Besi Demak cluster in Sarawak; and the Parit Kassan cluster involving Johor and Melaka.

The Sabaru cluster, detected in Lahad Datu, first involved an individual screened after exhibiting symptoms on Nov 13. He was then admitted to the Lahad Datu Hospital. Targeted community screenings found another 87 new cases.

A total of 1,627 people have been screened with 88 testing positive and 22 negative, while the remaining 1,517 people are waiting for the results.

Meanwhile, the Tomher cluster detected in Ranau, Sabah involved construction workers who were screened as part of targeted screenings for high-risk groups since Nov 9.

A total of 276 people have been screened with 20 testing positive and six negative, with the remaining 250 still awaiting results.

The Garden cluster, detected in Tawau, first involved an individual screened after exhibiting symptoms on Nov 7. Close contact screenings found another 10 cases. A total of 35 people have been screened with 11 testing positive and 24 negative.

The Putra-18 cluster meanwhile, involves Putrajaya and the districts of Petaling and Sepang in Selangor. It was detected after an individual was screened for exhibiting symptoms on Nov 14. He was then admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital.

A total of 52 people have been screened with seven testing positive. The other 45 people are waiting for their results.

The Murni cluster, which involves the districts of Cheras and Kepong in Kuala Lumpur and also Petaling in Selangor was detected when the index case went for symptomatic individual screenings on Nov 15.

There are 17 people who have been screened with seven testing positive. Eight people were negative and two are waiting for their results.

The Seri Pasir cluster from Timur Laut, Penang was detected after an individual was screened for exhibiting symptoms on Nov 11. He was then admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital.

A total of 24 people have been screened with 11 testing positive and 13 people waiting for their results.

Meanwhile, the Besi Demak cluster from Kuching, Sarawak was detected after an individual was screened for exhibiting symptoms on Nov 15. Close contact screenings identified four more positive cases.

A total of 237 people have been screened with five testing positive, 220 people testing negative and 12 awaiting results.

The Parit Kassan cluster involving the Tangkak district in Johor and the Melaka Tengah district in Melaka was detected after the index case went for symptomatic individual screenings on Nov 13.

Of the 105 close contacts who had been identified and screened, 11 tested positive and 70 were negative, while the remaining 24 are still waiting for their results.

Noor Hisham also announced that the Kencana, Bah Sintok and Seri Anggerik clusters have officially ended today. No deaths were linked to the three clusters.