Health DG: 153 COVID-19 positive cases recorded today, raising cumulative tally to 1,183 cases

KUALA LUMPUR (March 21): There were 153 new positive cases of Covid-19 were confirmed today, bringing the national tally to 1,183 cases, said the Health Ministry.

In a statement today, they said 90 of the new cases were linked to the outbreak from the Masjid Jamek Seri Petaling tabligh gathering cluster.

Of the total cases, 37 of them are being treated in the intensive care unit, with 22 of them requiring respiratory aid.

Separately, the health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a fourth person had died of Covid-19 today.

The deceased was a 50-year-old man who participated in the gathering; he was admitted to Hospital Melaka on March 12 for Severe Acute Respiratory Infection.

The ministry also highlighted that 24 healthcare workers -- involving 19 from the public sector and five from the private sector -- were infected with Covid-19.

"The cause of infection among the 19 is not their disregard [of protocol] while handling cases at their facilities. Investigations have revealed that they were all close contacts to the first generation and second generation of infections," it said.

To contain the spread of the virus, the ministry is working with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to seek refugees and asylum seekers who participated in the tabligh event.

Non-governmentall organisations roped into the effort are the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia, the Muslim Relief Agency and Mercy Malaysia.

Meanwhile, 114 people have recovered from the disease and have been discharged.

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