3,631 new cases, 18 more deaths in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia claimed 18 more lives yesterday, the highest daily tally in the country so far, while 3,631 new cases were recorded and 2,554 patients fully recovered.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the latest development brings the death toll from the deadly pandemic to 660, while the cumulative number of cases so far was 176,180, of which 42,814 were still active.

“Of the total number of new cases, 3,625 involved local transmissions, and six were import cases. Selangor recorded the highest number of new daily cases with 782, followed by Johor with 466 and Sabah with 453,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He added that 251 cases were being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with 102 requiring respiratory assistance.

Meanwhile, he said 12 new clusters were detected, taking the total number of active clusters in the country to 335.

Dr Noor Hisham said the 18 deaths yesterday involved 17 locals comprising 10 men and seven women, as well as a foreign man, all aged between 32 to 93.

He said nine of the cases were from Selangor, three from Sabah; Kuala Lumpur (two), Sarawak (two) and one each from Johor and Penang.

Apart from the top three of Selangor, Johor and Sabah, Kuala Lumpur recorded 435 cases yesterday, followed by Sarawak (229), Penang (202), Negeri Sembilan (197), Terengganu (178), Kedah (166), Kelantan (161), Perak (138), Melaka (62), Pahang (61), Putrajaya (39), Labuan (29) and Perlis (13).

Commenting on the new clusters, Dr Noor Hisham said seven were workplace-related clusters, two community clusters, two clusters involving groups at risk, and one detention cluster. - Bernama