Covid-19: 18 deaths, 4,284 new cases nationwide, Sabah's drop to 190

PETALING JAYA: The health ministry has reported 4,284 Covid-19 cases and 18 deaths in the past 24 hours.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there were 3,804 recoveries, bringing the total number of those discharged to 177,794.

In a statement, Noor Hisham said the total number of infections now stands at 226,912.

There are 48,309 active cases with 307 patients being treated in intensive care and 141 requiring respiratory assistance.

Meanwhile, the 18 deaths bring the number of fatalities to 809.

The new cases today involved 4,278 local infections and six imported cases. Local cases comprised 2,619 Malaysians and 1,659 foreigners.

Selangor recorded the highest number of cases again with 1,572. Other states or federal territories that recorded three-digit infections were Johor (964), Kuala Lumpur (651), Sabah (190), Sarawak (148), Negeri Sembilan (133), Kedah (124), Penang (122) and Perak (106).

They were followed by Pahang (66), Kelantan (65), Terengganu (55), Melaka (53), Labuan (21) and Putrajaya (14). Perlis did not report any new cases today.

There were 122 cases from prisons and detention centres, most of which came from the Tembok Mempaga (54), Tembok Pengkalan Chepa (41) and Tembok Bukit Besi (14) clusters.

The 18 deaths today comprised 17 Malaysians and one foreigner, with the youngest aged 31 and the oldest 89. All of them suffered from existing medical conditions, except the 31-year-old.

Four of the deceased, including the youngest (aged 31) and oldest (89), died at home and were found to be Covid-19 positive after their bodies were brought to hospital and tested for the virus.

The health ministry has detected 13 new Covid-19 clusters in the past 24 hours, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.

In a statement, he said 12 of them involved workplaces while one cluster was detected in a detention centre.

Three clusters were detected in Sabah, two each in Selangor, Johor and Kuala Lumpur, and one each in Pahang, Putrajaya, Penang and Kelantan.

The Jalan City cluster is a workplace cluster in Sepang, with its index cases testing positive on Feb 2 in a screening at a shopping mall there. A total of 112 people have been screened with 48 found positive.

The Jalan Aman cluster is a workplace cluster in Hulu Selangor, with its first few cases found positive on Feb 1 during a screening at a factory on Jalan Aman Suria, Bestari Jaya in Kuala Selangor. Some 255 people have been screened with 38 testing positive.

The Jalan Pulai 55 cluster is a workplace cluster in Johor Bahru, with its index case testing positive on Feb 1 in a screening prior to getting admitted to hospital. The cluster involves occupants and workers of a shelter at Jalan Puali 55, Taman Pulai Utama. A total of 58 people have been screened with 42 found positive.

The Batu Tiga Setengah cluster is a workplace cluster in Batu Pahat, with its first case found positive on Jan 17 in a screening after exhibiting symptoms. It involves a factory located at Batu 3 ½, Jalan Kluang. Some 119 people have been screened with 19 testing positive.

The Taman Koperasi cluster is a workplace cluster in Kepong, with its index cases testing positive on Feb 3 in a screening at an educational institute in Taman Koperasi. A total of 23 people have been screened with 15 found positive.