Highest daily cases since February

Kampung domis cluster contributes to Covid-19 spike in Kelantan

PUTRAJAYA: A surge in Covid-19 infections in Kelantan has contributed to the country’s highest daily figure in over two months.

In his daily Covid-19 statement, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Malaysia recorded an additional 2,875 new cases, bringing the cumulative total to 384,688.

“Kelantan recorded the most cases with 662 new infections, which is 23% of the country’s total.

“Of Kelantan’s cases, 85.6% were uncovered from clusters as well as contact tracing activities,” said Dr Noor Hisham.

The last time Malaysia’s daily figure was higher was on Feb 19, when cases numbered 2,936 that day.

Among the contributors to Kelantan’s increase is the Kampung Domis cluster, which is linked to students and staff of an education centre in Tanah Merah.

The cluster recorded 162 new cases yesterday, which means it now has 348 confirmed cases since the outbreak was identified on April 15.

The Health Ministry also identified 13 new clusters yesterday.

Dr Noor Hisham said of the new clusters, five are workplace-related, four are community outbreaks, three are linked to the education sector while one is from a religious event.

A school outbreak in Banting, Selangor saw the discovery of 58 positive cases among its students.

Named the Jalan Shah Banting cluster, Dr Noor Hisham said 913 individuals had to undergo a targeted screening exercise since April 16.

Dr Noor Hisham said there are now 352 active clusters nationwide.

Meanwhile, seven more people succumbed to Covid-19 in the country, taking the death toll up to 1,407.

Three deaths were recorded in Sabah, two in Selangor and one each in Sarawak and Kelantan.

Those who died were aged between 44 and 80, with all of them suffering from underlying conditions such as gout, obesity, hypertension and diabetes.

Currently, there are 248 patients under intensive care, with 115 requiring ventilator support.

Active cases have now gone up to 22,014.

Another 2,541 patients have been discharged from treatment.