COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 1,581 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative cases to 100,318. 

Klang Valley accounted for 55.3 percent of new cases followed by Sabah (15.7) and Negeri Sembilan (9.1 percent).

In Selangor, there were 115 cases that were detected through "other screenings". According to the state health department, 31 cases were detected among those with symptoms and another five were through voluntary screening. Learn more about "other screenings" here.

Leading indicators:

• Active cases: 19,860↑ (1,581more than the previous day, new record)
• Patients in ICU: 102 (unchanged)
• Intubated patients: 45↑ (1 more than the previous day)
• Deaths: 2

[For 14-day cumulative new cases count at mukim (locality) level, click here. For details of new cases by clusters, click here. There may be delays to updates by the respective state health departments.]

Both deaths reported were from Sabah. The cumulative Covid-19 death toll for Sabah stood at 255 or 57.2 percent of the national total (446).

Details of both victims - all Malaysian citizens - are as follows:

• Patient 46,551 - Female, 15, body brought to the Lahad Datu Hospital. No medical history.

• Patient 97,575 - Male, 61, body brought to the Duchess of Kent Hospital, Sandakan.

From the case number, Patient 46,551 was confirmed positive in the middle of November and was only categorised as a Covid-19 death today. 

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah did not hold a press briefing and communicated through a press statement. 

He is not scheduled to hold a press briefing until Sunday (Dec 27). Therefore, no RT-PCR test numbers are available today.

Of the 1,581 new cases, only two are imported. A breakdown of the new cases are as follows: 

Selangor (491)
Existing clusters: 68
New clusters (Kebun Baru, Sungai Burong): 101
Close contact: 206
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 115

Kuala Lumpur (379)
Existing clusters: 251
New clusters (Tapak Bina Jalan Tun, Jalan Pandan): 34
Close contact: 57
Other screenings: 37

Sabah (249)
Existing clusters: 20
Close contact: 140
Other screenings: 89

Negeri Sembilan (144)
Existing clusters: 127
Close contact: 14
Other screenings: 3

Johor (115)
Existing clusters: 80
Close contact: 17
Other screenings: 18

Malacca (76)
Existing clusters: 72
Close contact: 4

Penang (37)
Existing clusters: 14
Close contact: 6
Other screenings: 17

Labuan (26)
Existing clusters: 6
Close contact: 9
Other screenings: 11

Perak (26)
Existing clusters: 14
Close contact: 7
Other screenings: 5

Pahang (12)
Existing clusters: 8
Close contact: 3
Other screenings: 1

Kelantan (9)
Existing clusters: 2
Close contact: 5
Other screenings: 2

Terengganu (7)
Existing clusters: 3
Close contact: 1
Other screenings: 3

Kedah (4)
Existing clusters: 2
Other screenings: 2

Putrajaya (4)
Existing clusters: 1
Close contact: 1
Other screenings: 2

Sarawak (2)
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 1

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry reported 206 active clusters, of which 53 reported new cases today.

The Penjara Jalan Haparan cluster had the highest number of new cases (185) and is originated from the Sungai Buloh prison in Selangor but has spread to other states such as Malacca.

Tapak Bina Permai had 138 new cases. This cluster is isolated to a construction site in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur.

The Health Ministry also classified four new clusters. The highest number of cases was from the Kebun Baru cluster, which involved a factory located in the Kuala Langat district in Selangor. All 95 new cases reported today involved foreigners.

The Sungai Burong cluster involved the Kuala Selangor district in Selangor whereby the index case suffered from a severe acute respiratory infection and was diagnosed on Dec 19. This cluster has 28 cases so far.

The Tapak Bina Jalan Tun cluster involved a construction site at the Lembah Pantai district in Kuala Lumpur. As of today, there are 26 cases in this cluster.

The Jalan Pandan cluster involved several districts across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor where the index case was diagnosed on Dec 14 after reporting symptoms. Thirty cases have been attributed to this cluster.