COVID-19 | The Health Ministry reported 3,545 new Covid-19 cases as of noon today, of which one is imported.

The uptick in cases is largely driven by a large spike in Negeri Sembilan, which recorded 1,392 cases today. This is the highest figure of any state today, and accounts for 39.3 percent of the national total.

For comparison, the state had only recorded an average of 110.8 cases per day in the last two weeks.

The ministry's director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the surge is due to the Industri Sungai Gadut cluster, which is linked to a wooden products factory at the Sungai Gadut Industrial Park, KM11, Seremban.

Targeted screening began finding Covid-19 cases at the factory on Feb 16, and it was identified as a new cluster on Feb 22.

The cluster has recorded 1,338 new cases today, for a total of 1,432 cases. Noor Hisham said 318 of these involve Malaysian citizens, while the remaining 1,114 are non-citizens.

Meanwhile in the Klang Valley, the three states and territories that make up the region recorded a total of 963 new cases, or 27.2 percent of the national figures.

Sarawak recorded 353 new cases today, which is the highest for the state since the beginning of the third wave of Covid-19 cases in September last year.

With the spike in new cases and only 3,331 people being discharged today, the number of active cases has risen for the first time in 13 days to 30,677, compared to 30,475 active cases yesterday.

Active cases: 30,677

Patients in ICU: 189

Intubated: 88

Deaths

Twelve new deaths have been attributed to Covid-19 today, bringing the total death toll in the country to 1,088.

Seven of the deaths are recorded in Kuala Lumpur, two in Selangor; while Sabah, Terengganu, and Penang each recorded one case.

Their ages range from 52 to 98 years old. Four of them have no history of chronic illness, including two who are in their 90's.

Meanwhile, one person was already deceased when brought to a hospital. The 74-year-old male in Selangor has a history of high blood pressure.

Cases by state

Negeri Sembilan (1,392)
Existing clusters: 1,358
Close contacts: 16
Other screenings: 18

Selangor (581)
Existing clusters: 211
New clusters (Jalan Enam): 5
Close contacts: 223
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 141

Kuala Lumpur (381)
Existing clusters: 255
Close contacts: 46
Other screenings: 80

Sarawak (353)
Existing clusters: 116
Close contacts: 47
Other screenings: 190

Johor (318)
Existing clusters: 121
New clusters (Perindustrian Lukut, Jalan Ulu Choh,Jalan Dato Yunus): 67
Close contacts: 72
Other screenings: 58

Perak (188)
Existing clusters: 178
New clusters (Pasar Bidor): 1
Close contacts: 2
Other screenings: 7

Sabah (105)
Existing clusters: 12
New clusters (Sinsingon): 15
Close contacts: 60
Other screenings: 18

Penang (95)
Existing clusters: 68
New clusters (Lorong Bakau, Vista Hilir): 16
Close contacts: 6
Other screenings: 21

Kelantan (53)
Existing clusters: 16
Close contacts: 24
Other screenings: 13

Malacca (26)
Existing clusters: 20
Close contacts: 2
Other screenings: 4

Terengganu (22)
Existing clusters: 6
Close contacts: 9
Other screenings: 7

Kedah (17)
Existing clusters: 4
Close contacts: 4
Other screenings: 9

Pahang (8)
Existing clusters: 2
Close contacts: 6

Labuan (5)
Close contacts: 4
Other screenings: 1

Putrajaya (1)
Existing clusters: 1

No cases have been reported in Perlis today for the second consecutive day.

Clusters

The Health Ministry is tracking 509 active clusters today, of which 78 have recorded new cases.

Eight new clusters have been reported, while monitoring has ceased for another eight clusters after no new cases have been reported for 28 consecutive days.

The clusters that have recorded the most cases today are the Industri Sungai Gadut cluster (1,338) in Seremban, Negeri Semiblan, the Tapak Bina Jalan Segambut cluster in Kuala Lumpur (174), and the Jalan Pelabuhan cluster (164) in Manjung, Perak.

One other cluster - the Jalan Serendah cluster in Shah Alam, Selangor - also reported a triple-digit figure with 108 cases today.

One of the new clusters today is classified as a community cluster involving a funeral, while the other seven are workplace clusters involving several factories and a wet market.

Details of the new clusters are as follows:

Perindustrian Lukut cluster
District(s): Kota Tinggi, Johor
Locality/Source: Factory at Kawasan Perindustrian Lukut, Kota Tinggi
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 24, targeted screening
Total infected: 28 out of 239 screened

Jalan Ulu Choh cluster
District(s): Pontian, Johor
Locality/Source: Factory at Jalan Ulu Choh, Pekan Nenas, Pontian
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 21, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 34 out of 190 screened

Jalan Dato Yunus cluster
District(s): Johor Bahru, Johor
Locality/Source: Factory at Kawasan Perindustrian Dato Yunus Sulaiman, Gelang Patah, Johor Bahru
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 24, targeted screening
Total infected: 8 out of 30 screened

Lorong Bakau cluster
District(s): Seberang Perai Selatan, Penang
Locality/Source: Kawasan Perusahaan Perabot, Sungai Bakap, Seberang Perai Selatan
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 24, targeted screening
Total infected: 50 out of 297 screened

Vista Hilir cluster
District(s): Timur Laut and Barat Daya, Penang
Locality/Source: Factory at Hilir Sungai Kluang 2, Zon Perindustrian Bebas Bayan Lepas, Barat Daya
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 15, targeted screening
Total infected: 35 out of 154 screened

Jalan Enam cluster
District(s): Petaling, Selangor
Locality/Source: Factory at Jalan SU 6A, Shah Alam
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 7, targeted screening
Total infected: 15 out of 173 screened

Pasar Bidor cluster
District(s): Batang Padang, Perak
Locality/Source: Trader at a wet market in Bidor, Batang Padang
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Jan 28, index case with severe acute respiratory infection
Total infected:

Sinsingon cluster
District(s): Nabawan, Sabah
Locality/Source: Funeral at Kampung Sinsingon, Nabawan, between Feb 17 and Feb 20
Cluster category: Community
First case: Feb 23, screening prior to admission to a hostel
Total infected: 18 out of 106 screened