COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 1,925 new Covid-19 cases, while the number of active cases soared past 21,000 to set the fourth consecutive day of new records.
Over half the cases were concentrated in the Klang Valley with Selangor in the lead, but Pahang also saw a surge in cases driven almost entirely by the Tembok Mempaga cluster (282 out of 288 cases in the state).
The Tembok Mempaga cluster involved a Covid-19 outbreak in a prison. Overall, clusters involving lockups, immigration detention depots, and prisons account for 307 cases (15.9 percent) today.
Leading indicators:
- Active cases: 21,443 ↑ (800 more than the previous day, fourth consecutive day of new records)
- Patients in ICU: 117 ↑ ( One more than the previous day)
- Intubated patients: 55 ↑ (Two more than the previous day)
- Deaths: 2 ↓ (One less than the previous day)
[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.]
One death involved a case recorded in Putrajaya, while another occurred in Kelantan. Both were Malaysians in their 60s.
The latest fatalities put the death toll at 457, representing a mortality rate of 0.42 percent.
Details of the fatalities are as follows:
Patient 91,966 – Male, 65. The case originated in Putrajaya but the patient died at Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor. He had a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney and heart diseases, and stroke.
Patient 103,895 – Female, 68. Died at Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. She had a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.
No RT-PCR test figures were available today. Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah usually provides these figures only on days when he holds press conferences. The next press conference is expected next week.
Meanwhile, in Noor Hisham’s press release today, 121 out of 747 cases detected in Selangor were attributed to “other screenings”.
According to the Selangor Health Department, 34 cases were detected among those with symptoms while another five were found among those with severe acute respiratory illness.
Eight cases were detected among those who voluntarily sought testing in private laboratories. Four cases were discovered among those who were tested before starting new jobs and four were detected through pre-departure screenings.
Only Selangor and Sarawak provide granular details of “other screenings”. To learn more about “other screenings”, please click here.
Of the 1,925 new cases reported nationwide, 10 were imported while the remainders are locally transmitted cases. The breakdown is as follows:
Selangor (747)
Existing clusters: 196
New cluster (Seri Lanang): 168
Close contacts: 261
Imported: 1
Other screening: 121
Kuala Lumpur (360)
Existing clusters: 132
New clusters (Jalan Chu, Awan Puteh Construction Site, Integra Ikon, Jalan Satang): 83
Close contact: 98
Imported: 7
Other screening: 40
Pahang (288)
New cluster (Tembok Mampaga): 282
Close contact: 1
Other screening: 5
Sabah (230)
Existing clusters: 7
New clusters (Timbang Dayang, Teguli): 14
Close contact: 134
Imported: 1
Other screening: 74
Johor (110)
Existing clusters: 75
Close contact: 22
Other screening: 13
Negeri Sembilan (60)
Existing clusters: 27
Close contact: 10
Other screening: 23
Penang (57)
Existing clusters: 41
Close contact: 16
Kelantan (31)
Existing clusters: 17
Close contact: 8
Other screening: 6
Perak (17)
Existing clusters: 9
Close contact: 6
Other screening: 2
Malacca (9)
Existing clusters: 3
New cluster (Rambai): 1
Close contact: 3
Other screening: 2
Kedah (8)
Existing clusters: 1
Close contact: 4
Other screening: 3
Sarawak (4)
Imported: 1
Other screening: 3
Putrajaya (2)
Existing clusters: 2
Terengganu (2)
Close contact: 2
No cases have been reported in Labuan and Perlis today.
Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said the ministry is monitoring 220 active clusters as of today, including nine new ones while three others ended its monitoring period.
Of the active clusters, 50 recorded new cases.
The one with the largest increase was the newly detected Tembok Mempaga cluster involving a prison in Bentong, Pahang which recorded 282 cases today.
The first case was detected on Dec 22 during screening for detainees, and so far, a total of 284 cases have been detected out of 504 people screened.
The second-largest increase was seen in the Seri Lanang cluster with 168 new cases in Selangor, affecting the districts of Klang, Gombak, Kuala Selangor, and Petaling.
This is also a newly identified cluster, and was detected following a mass screening exercise at a factory. The first case was identified on Dec 25, and to date, 173 cases have been detected out of 1,020 people screened.
Two clusters also saw triple-digit increases today – the Lebuh Construction Site cluster in Sepang, Selangor (125 new cases, 195 in total), and the Jalan Stadium Construction Site cluster affecting several Klang Valley districts (114 new cases, 623 in total).
Both are existing clusters that have been announced before.
As for the remaining new clusters, one was the Jalan Chu cluster in the Lembah Pantai district, Kuala Lumpur, which detected its first case today as part of a company’s mass screening exercise.
There were 44 cases so far out of 70 people screened.
The Awan Puteh Construction Site cluster, also located in Lembah Pantai, detected its first cases today following a mass screening exercise at a construction site.
So far, 29 cases have been found of 87 people screened.
The Integra Ikon cluster in Kuala Lumpur’s Titiwangsa district was detected after the index case underwent voluntary screening on Dec 27.
Contact tracing revealed the disease had spread through social contacts with 11 people found positive out of 185 people screened so far.
The Jalan Satang cluster was detected in Kuala Lumpur’s Titiwangsa and Kepong districts, Selangor’s Hulu Langat, Klang, Petaling, and Gombak districts, and the Bentong district in Pahang.
The 79-year-old index case was identified after developing severe acute respiratory infection and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 on Dec 20.
Contact tracing identified a total of 30 cases amongst social and family contacts, out of 104 people screened.
The Timbang Dayang cluster in Kota Belud, Sabah, was detected after the index case developed symptoms and tested positive on Dec 25.
The cluster was found to have spread to 13 social and family contacts so far, out of 87 people screened.
Previously, the Kota Belud Health Office had sought Kampung Timbang Dayang villagers for testing, particularly those who attended a bertitik ceremony (pre-wedding ceremony) on Dec 18, a cukur jambul ceremony on Dec 19, and a birthday party on Dec 22.
The Teguli cluster in Putatan, Sabah, was detected after the index case developed symptoms and tested positive on Dec 16. There have been 13 people screened in this cluster so far, of which 12 were positive.
And finally, the Rambai cluster was detected in Melaka Tengah and Alor Gajah in Malacca, in Selangor, and Rembau in Negeri Sembilan.
The index case tested positive on Dec 27 after developing symptoms. Of 102 people screened, 16 people tested positive.
The Teguli and Rambai clusters were also found to have been spreading entirely through social and family contacts. The latest case in the Rambai cluster is an eight-year-old boy.
