COVID-19 | The country today recorded 561 new Covid-19 cases, the second-highest since the start of the pandemic.
All but eight of the new cases today were locally-transmitted.
The highest record was just five days ago on Oct 6 when 691 new infections were reported.
The new cases today are in contrast to the 133 Covid-19 patients who have recovered.
This means the country has recorded a total of 15,657 cumulative cases and 10,913 cumulative recoveries.
There are now 4,587 Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment.
Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a virtual press conference today, also announced that two more people have died from Covid-19, bringing the death toll to 157 cases.
The deceased included a 67-year-old male (Patient 14,259) who had a history of tuberculosis and heart disease and was treated at Duchess of Kent Hospital, Sandakan.
The other deceased was a 63-year-old male (Patient 1,5584) who had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure and was treated at Tawau Hospital.
Noor Hisham also revealed the emergence of five new clusters - three in Sabah, one in Selangor, and one in Labuan.
The breakdown of the new locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases today are as follows:
Sabah (488 new cases)
- Surat cluster (new) - 22 cases
- Kasih cluster (new) - 15 cases
- Khazanah cluster (new) - 13 cases
- Other screenings and clusters - 438 cases
Selangor (25 new cases)
- Existing clusters - 11 cases
- Sungei Way cluster (new) - 3 cases
- Close contact screening - 5 cases
- Sabah returnees screening - 2 cases
- Symptomatic screening - 2 cases
- Pre-surgery screening - 2 cases
Kedah (16 new cases)
- Tembok cluster - 15 cases
- Close contact screening - 1 case
Kuala Lumpur (8 new cases)
- Sungei Way cluster - 4 cases
- Close contact screening - 2 cases
- Symptomatic screening - 1 case
- Self-initiated screening - 1 case
Labuan (5 new cases)
- Bah Bundle cluster (new) - 1 case
- Sabah returnees screening - 3 cases
- Hospital admission screening - 1 case
Johor (3 new cases)
- Sabah returnees screening - 3 cases
Terengganu (3 new cases)
- Sabah returnees screening - 2 cases
- Close contact screening - 1 case
Perak (1 new case)
- Close contact screening - 1 case
Penang (1 new case)
- Close contact screening - 1 case
Of these 553 locally-transmitted cases, they comprise 494 Malaysians and 59 non-citizens. 11 of these cases are peninsular returnees from Sabah.
To date, the number of Covid-19 cases outside of Sabah but traced to Sabah stands at 353 cases.
Sabah became the new Covid-19 epicentre in the country in early September and the spread was accelerated during the Sabah election which concluded on Sept 26.
As for the eight new imported cases today, they were returnees from Indonesia (3), China (2), Singapore (1), Cambodia (1), and Saudi Arabia (1).
In the intensive care unit (ICU) wards, the number of Covid-19 patients now stands at 90, an increase of 17 compared to the previous day.
Of the 90 ICU patients, 29 need ventilators to breathe.
