The Star Malaysia

Active cases closing in on pre-MCO numbers

- By JOSEPH KAOS Jr joekaosjr@thestar.com.my

PUTRAJAYA: The number of Covid-19 recoveries in the country has outpaced new cases for the ninth day in a row.

As a result, the total number of active cases has now gone down to 36,797 in the latest daily Covid-19 statistics for Malaysia.

On Feb 11, the country’s active cases were at their highest – 51,783.

The figure is getting closer to pre-movement control order numbers, where active cases were 30,390 on Jan 12.

Active cases refer to the number people who have tested positive for Covid-19 and are receiving treatment at hospitals or quarantine centres.

In his daily Covid-19 updates, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Malaysia recorded 2,936 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday.

During this time, 13 patients died while 4,889 others were discharged.

Selangor continued to record the most number of new cases at 978 or 33.3% of the country’s total.

“Of that total in Selangor, 722 cases or 73.8% were uncovered from infection clusters and close contact screening activities,” Dr Noor Hisham said.

Johor came second with 730 cases (24.9%), followed by Kuala Lumpur with 227 cases (7.7%).

Dr Noor Hisham said 112 new cases (3.8%) were found from clusters linked to prisons and immigratio­n detention centres.

“These included the Tembok Tapah cluster in Perak, which has 64 new cases,” he said.

On the 13 new deaths, he said six cases were in Kuala Lumpur, three in Selangor, two in Sarawak and one each in Melaka and Johor.

The deceased were aged between 53 and 84, with all of them suffering from comorbidit­ies such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry had also uncovered 13 new Covid-19 clusters in the country.

Ten of the new clusters were infections discovered at workplaces in Johor, Selangor, Sabah, Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur.

Two new clusters in Sarawak (Jalan Green cluster) and Terengganu (Bukit Petiti cluster) are community outbreaks.

One cluster in Terengganu, the Kubang Jambu cluster, is categorise­d as a high-risk group cluster as it involves infections discovered at a medical centre in Kuala Terengganu.

Dr Noor Hisham said there are now 511 active clusters under the ministry’s supervisio­n nationwide.

 ?? — Bernama ?? Being careful: People wearing face masks and observing social distancing at the Cenderawas­ih night market in Kuantan, Pahang.
— Bernama Being careful: People wearing face masks and observing social distancing at the Cenderawas­ih night market in Kuantan, Pahang.

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