Covid-19: Malaysia reports 1,295 new cases, with 481 infections from Selangor

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 16): Malaysia today recorded 1,295 new Covid-19 cases, as Selangor registered the highest number of new infections at 481, according to the Ministry of Health.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 356 cases in Selangor were confirmed from the existing and new Covid-19 clusters as well as screening of close contacts of Covid-19 positive patients. Of this number, 277 cases came from the clusters, while 79 infections were detected from the screening of close contacts.

As the bulk of cases in the most populous state came from clusters, two of them recorded the highest number of infections today, namely the Top Glove-linked Teratai cluster in Klang with 143 new cases and the Usaha cluster, detected in Klang and Petaling, with 79 new cases.

Other than that, 121 cases in Selangor came from other Covid-19 screenings, while the remaining four cases were imported.

Dr Noor Hisham explained at a virtual press briefing today that several cases related to other Covid-19 screenings refer to sporadic cases that could not be traced to any clear source of infection and do not appear related to any of the identified main clusters of infections. These may include screenings conducted on people with symptoms, pre-surgery screenings, workplace screenings and pre-departure screenings, among others.

Aside from Selangor, Sabah recorded 268 cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 232 cases, said Dr Noor Hisham.

From 1,295 new infections today, only ten were imported, he added.

Furthermore, seven more deaths were reported — five in Sabah and one each in Selangor and Kelantan — lifting the nationwide Covid-19 death toll to 429. The deceased, involving five men and two women, were aged between 52 and 77 years.

Meanwhile, 1,052 more Covid-19 patients have recovered, bringing the current total recoveries to 72,733.

As new infections came in higher than daily recoveries, active cases — which carry high transmission risks — rose to 14,751 from 14,515 previously.

There are 113 Covid-19 patients being treated in intensive care units, with 53 of them needing ventilators.

To date, Malaysia’s total cases climbed to 87,913 today from just 10,219 total cases since the start of the third wave of Covid-19 infections on Sept 20.

Get the latest news @ www.EdgeProp.my

Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest stories and updates 

Click here for more property stories