Recoveries continue to rise

DG: Numbers of new cases outpaced for the tenth day in a row

PETALING JAYA: The number of recoveries in Malaysia outpaced new cases of Covid-19 for the 10th day in the row.

As of noon yesterday, 4,782 patients were discharged while 2,461 new infections were recorded.

The total number of active cases have gone down to 34,468, inching closer to that recorded before the current movement control order.

On Jan 12, the number of active cases were 30,390.

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

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said out of the new cases, 1,589 (64.6%) were locals while 872 (35.4%) were foreigners.

Selangor continued to record the most number of new cases at 1,001 or 40.7% of the total.

“Of that total in Selangor, 757 cases or 75.6% were from existing clusters and close contact screening, ” he said.

Kelantan came in second with 257 cases (10.4%), followed by Johor with 233 cases (9.5%).

Labuan was the only territory not to have any new case.

Dr Noor Hisham said eight more deaths were recorded, bringing the total fatalities to 1,051.

The deceased were all Malaysians, aged between 46 and 81, with co-morbidities.

“Out of the eight, four died in Sarawak while one death was each recorded in Selangor, Sabah, Perak and Kelantan,” he said.

There were also 298 new cases (12.1%) that came from clusters linked to prisons and immigration detention centres.

“These included the Bukit Besi cluster with 146 new cases, followed by the Tembok Pengkalan Chepa cluster (50), Tembok Bendera cluster (39) and Tembok Tapah cluster (33).

“Others are the Damai Pelangi cluster with 13 cases, the DTI Sepang 2 cluster (eight), the Tembok Sungai Udang cluster (six) and Tembok Mempaga cluster (three),” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said although 11 clusters had ended, 10 new ones were identified – all linked to the workplace.

Four of the new clusters were found in Johor, two each in Selangor and Perak, while Sabah and Negri Sembilan had one each.

There are now 510 active clusters nationwide, 91 of which recorded new cases yesterday.