Record 889 new cases and six deaths in Sabah, 1,228 cases nationwide

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah registered a record 889 new Covid-19 cases yesterday along with six fatalities, bringing the state’s cumulative total to 11,285 cases.

Nationwide, the highest spike to date broke the four-digit barrier with 1,228 cases.

State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said more than 48 percent of the new cases were detected from the Kepayan Prison Cluster.

“Kota Kinabalu registered 557 new cases yesterday, where 434 of these cases came from the Kepayan Prison Cluster, which makes up 79 percent of the cases in the district alone,” Masidi, who is also the state’s Covid-19 official spokesperson, said in his daily press conference yesterday.

He reiterated that the number of cases in the state would further increase in the upcoming days due to the backlog of samples from the Kepayan Prison Cluster.

Tawau recorded the second highest number of new cases yesterday with 80 cases, followed by Kudat (40), Sandakan (33), Papar (30) and Tuaran (24).

“Thirty-three of the cases in Kudat were from the Inai Cluster, a cluster which originated from a ‘majlis berinai’ in the district recently,” said Masidi.

He said that seven teachers, 25 students and one State Education Department personnel had also tested positive for the virus yesterday.

He disclosed two of the deaths were detected in Tuaran, another two in Sandakan and one each in Lahad Datu and Semporna.

Masidi added that the two new clusters, dubbed as the Megah Cluster and Mesra Cluster, were detected in Sandakan.

He said 449 Covid-19 patients in Sabah recovered yesterday.

As it stands, 4,908 patients have recovered from the virus in Sabah while another 6,287 are still undergoing treatment.

Meanwhile, Health Director General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham said yesterday there were 92 cases being treated at the Intensive Care Unit, of which 31 cases require respiratory assistance.

“From the latest information reported to the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre, I am sad to inform you that there have been seven more Covid-19related deaths, taking the total number of casualties due to the disease in Malaysia to 221,” he said.