COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 1,870 new Covid-19 cases, with Johor leading the tally for the first time.

The state recorded 607 new cases, of which 374 (61.6 percent) was attributed to the newly identified Tembok Choh cluster that involves a prison.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has set a new record of active Covid-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day.

The number of patients now receiving care in intensive care units has beaten the previous record of 130 cases on Dec 5.

Leading indicators:

Active cases: 22,562 ↑ (1,119 more than the previous day, fifth consecutive day of new records)
Patients in ICU: 131 ↑ (14 more than the previous day, new record)
Intubated patients: 62 ↑ (Seven more than the previous day)
Deaths: 6 ↑ (Four more 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.]

The latest fatalities put the death toll at 463, representing a mortality rate of 0.42 percent.

Details of the fatalities are as follows:

Patient 62,273 – Malaysian male, 58. Died at Duchess of Kent Hospital, Sandakan, Sabah. Had a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, dyslipidaemia, prostate gland disease, and heart disease.

Patient 75,223 – Malaysian male, 55. Died at Enche’ Besar Hajjah Khalsom Hospital, Kluang, Johor. Had a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic kidney disease.

Patient 100,364 – Malaysian female, 63. Died at Keningau Hospital, Sabah. Had a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoarthritis, and dyslipidaemia.

Patient 106,851 – Malaysian male, 55. Died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sabah. Had a history of diabetes.

Patient 107,657 – Malaysian male, 69. Died at Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor. Had a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, dyslipidaemia, and gout.

Patient 104,079 – Non-Malaysian male, 45. Brought in dead at Lahad Datu Hospital, Sabah. No history of chronic diseases.

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. His next press conference is expected next week.

Meanwhile, Selangor had the second-highest number of new cases (472) after Johor, of which 121 were detected through “other screenings”.

According to Selangor Health Department figures, 44 of these “other screenings” were testing for people who developed symptoms, including a healthcare worker. Another two cases were detected during the screening of patients with severe acute respiratory infection.

Another 12 cases were detected by private laboratories during voluntary screening.

Five cases were detected during pre-flight screening, two during pre-surgery screening, and one during pre-employment screening.

Only Selangor and Sarawak provide granular details of “other screenings”. To learn more about “other screenings”, please click here.

Of the 1,870 new cases reported nationwide, two were imported while the rest were locally transmitted. The breakdown for all new cases is as follows:

Johor (607)

Existing clusters: 164
New cluster (Tembok Choh): 374
Close contacts: 40
Other screening: 29

Selangor (472)

Existing clusters: 59
New cluster (Broga Construction Site): 6
Close contacts: 286
Other screening: 121

Sabah (280)

Existing clusters: 14
Close contacts: 176
Other screening: 90

Kuala Lumpur (219)

Existing clusters: 29
New cluster (Jalan Stesen Construction Site, Slot Berjaya, Jalan Nikolas): 66
Close contacts: 40
Imported: 1
Other screening: 83

Penang (69)

Existing clusters: 58
Close contacts: 1
Other screening: 10

Kelantan (56)

Existing clusters: 33
Close contacts: 17
Other screening: 6

Perak (48)

Existing clusters: 28
New cluster (Gerbang Pongsu): 1
Close contacts: 11
Other screening: 8

Pahang (48)

Existing clusters: 10
New cluster (Damai Ketari): 20
Close contacts: 15
Other screening: 3

Negeri Sembilan (34)

Existing clusters: 10
Close contacts: 12
Other screening: 12

Kedah (23)

Existing clusters: 6
New cluster (Alor): 1
Close contacts: 9
Other screening: 7

Malacca (8)

Existing clusters: 1
Close contacts: 7

Labuan (2)

Existing clusters: 1
Imported: 1

Terengganu (2)

Other screening: 2

Sarawak (1)

Other screening: 1

Putrajaya (1)

Close contacts: 1

Perlis is the only state that did not report any new cases today and remains the country’s only “green” state.

Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said the ministry is currently monitoring 223 active clusters including eight new ones, while monitoring for another five clusters has ended after no new cases were reported in 28 days.

Of the active clusters, new cases have been reported for 53 of them.

The cluster that has seen the largest increase is the aforementioned Tembok Choh cluster with 374 cases today for a total of 382 cases in Johor Bahru, Pontian, Kota Tinggi, and Mersing.

The cluster was detected during targeting screening at a detention facility with 1,020 tested so far. Its first cases were detected on Dec 24.

The next largest increase was seen in the Tampoi Jaya cluster in Johor Bahru, which recorded 138 new cases for a total of 540 positive cases out of 1,170 people screened. One of them is currently in ICU.

Next is the Beringin cluster that spanned 15 districts across Penang, Perak, and Kedah. There were 61 new cases in this cluster today, for a total of 708 cases out of 16,149 people screened. One is being treated in ICU.

As for the new clusters, Noor Hisham said the Broga Construction Site cluster was detected during targeted screening for a construction site in Hulu Langat, Selangor.

There are 318 people screened so far, with the first cases reported on Dec 27. A total of 64 people have tested positive.

The Jalan Stesen Construction Site cluster in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, was detected after the index case underwent testing after reporting symptoms and turned out positive on Dec 21. A total of 607 people had been screened, of which 54 were positive.

The Slot Berjaya cluster in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur was detected during targeted screening at a workplace in Lembah Pantai.

Nine cases were detected so far out of 44 people screened, with the first positive results received today (Dec 30).

The index cases for the Jalan Nikolas cluster in Kuala Lumpur’s Titiwangsa district were also detected today following workplace screening.

It was found to have spread through social contacts, and a total of six cases have been detected out of 54 people screened.

The Alor cluster (above), meanwhile, involved the Kota Setar district in Kedah, and Titiwangsa and Cheras districts in Kuala Lumpur.

The index case was detected on Dec 25 when he sought testing after developing symptoms.

A total of 33 people have been screened so far, and 20 cases have been detected comprising the index case, his family, and social contacts.

The index case for the Gerbang Pongsu cluster in Perak’s Kerian and Kinta districts, meanwhile, was detected on Dec 24 after she underwent testing after reporting symptoms.

A total of eight cases have been detected so for, comprising the index case, her family, and social contacts. There were 53 people screened in this cluster.

The Damai Ketari cluster in Bentong, Pahang, was also detected after the index case sought testing after reporting symptoms.

A total of 65 people have been screened after the first case was detected on Dec 29, which found another 20 infected people amongst the index case’s social contacts.