COVID-19 | The Health Ministry reported 1,924 new Covid-19 cases as of noon today, which is the lowest since Jan 4 when 1,741 cases were recorded.

Six of the new cases were imported from abroad, while the rest were locally transmitted cases. Most of the local cases (80.4 percent) involved Malaysian citizens.

The number of active cases has also fallen to its lowest level in over a month, although there is an increase in cases that require intensive care or intubation.

"This is a very positive development and it is hoped that the current Covid-19 situation would improve," said Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, noting that Covid-19 cases have consistently fallen since the emergency proclamation was made on Jan 11.

This comes after a large spike of new cases was detected yesterday, which was largely driven by a single cluster involving a factory in Sungai Gadut, Negeri Sembilan, that recorded 1,338 new cases in a single day.

For today, most cases are still concentrated in the Klang Valley (886 cases; 46.0 percent), particularly Selangor (666 cases; 34.6 percent) and Kuala Lumpur (218 cases; 11.3 percent).

Other states and territories that reported triple-digit figures today were Johor (257), Sarawak (219), Penang (162), and Perak (120).

Cases linked to prisons and detention centres accounted for 105 (5.5 percent) of today's figures, particularly the Tembok Tapah cluster (41), Damai Pelangi cluster (32), and Tembok Pengkalan Chepa cluster (15).

Total cases since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country now stand at 293,698.

Active cases: 28,837

Patients in ICU: 205

Intubated: 91

Deaths

12 deaths have been attributed to Covid-19 today, bringing the national death toll to 1,100.

Nine of the deaths involved Covid-19 cases in Selangor, followed by two in Sarawak and one in Penang. All of them were Malaysian citizens.

Their ages ranged from 52 to 91 years old.

Two of them - a 63-year-old male with high blood pressure and a 77-year-old male with diabetes and high blood pressure - were already deceased when brought to a hospital. The first was a Selangor case, while the other was in Penang.

Cases by state

Selangor (666)
Existing clusters: 144
New clusters (Industri 19, Industri Jalan Empat, SS Lapan): 43
Close contacts: 340
Imported: 2
Other screenings: 137

Johor (257)
Existing clusters: 107
Close contacts: 90
Other screenings: 60

Sarawak (219)
Existing clusters: 52
New clusters (Jalan Ho Pin): 2
Close contacts: 59
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 105

Kuala Lumpur (218)
Existing clusters: 52
New clusters (Jalan Putra Silang): 1
Close contacts: 98
Imported: 3
Other screenings: 64

Penang (162)
Existing clusters: 40
New clusters (Lorong Murni): 19
Close contacts: 38
Other screenings: 65

Perak (120)
Existing clusters: 96
New clusters: 2
Close contacts: 8
Other screenings: 14

Sabah (93)
Existing clusters: 34
Close contacts: 42
Other screenings: 17

Negeri Sembilan (62)
Existing clusters: 14
Close contacts: 38
Other screenings: 10

Kelantan (44)
Existing clusters: 15
Close contacts: 18
Other screenings: 11

Kedah (29)
Existing clusters: 9
Close contacts: 6
Other screenings: 14

Malacca (22)
Existing clusters: 5
Close contacts: 17

Pahang (19)
Existing clusters: 3
New clusters (Tapak Bina Indera Mahkota): 7
Close contacts: 1
Other screenings: 8

Terengganu (6)
Existing clusters: 5
Other screenings: 1

Labuan (4)
Close contacts: 1
Other screenings: 3

Putrajaya (2)
Close contacts: 1
Other screenings: 1

Perlis (1)
Other screenings: 1

Clusters

The Health Ministry is tracking 499 active clusters, including eight new clusters that were identified today.

Of the new clusters, one was linked to a social event over the Chinese New Year weekend, one involved an aged care facility, and one involved community transmission.

The remaining five new clusters were classified as workplace clusters – mostly factories and construction sites where government-mandated targeted screening is being conducted.

New cases have been reported in 93 clusters, though none reported more than 100 cases today.

The largest increase was in the Perindustrian Pelepas cluster (55 cases) in Tanjung Pelepas, Johor; followed by the Tanjung Suria cluster (47 cases) that originated from two factories in Selangor; and the Tembok Tapah cluster (41 cases) at the Tapah Prison, Perak.

On the other hand, 18 clusters were considered to have ended after no new cases were reported for 28 consecutive days.

Details of the new clusters are as follows:

Industri 19 cluster
District(s): Petaling and Gombak, Selangor
Locality/Source: Factory at U19, Jalan Industri, Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh, Shah Alam
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 24, targeted screening
Total infected: 34 out of 84 screened

SS Lapan cluster
District(s): Klang, Kuala Selangor, and Petaling, Selangor
Locality/Source: Factory at SS 8, Zon Perindustrian Bebas Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 7, targeted screening
Total infected: 36 out of 600 screened

Industri Jalan Empat cluster
District(s): Hulu Langat, Klang, and Sepang , Selangor
Locality/Source: Factory at Jalan P/4, Kawasan Perindustrian Bangi, Hulu Langat
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 15, targeted screening
Total infected: 12 out of 193 screened

Jalan Putra Silang cluster
District(s): Kepong, Cheras, and Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur; Bentong, Pahang
Locality/Source: Services company at Jalan Kasipillay, off Jalan Ipoh, Kepong
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 19, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 8 out of 50 screened

Tapak Bina Indera Mahkota cluster
District(s): Kuantan, Pahang
Locality/Source: Construction site at Indera Mahkota 2, Kuantan
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 22, pre-employment screening
Total infected: 10 out of 208 screened

Kampung Mak Teh cluster
District(s): Batang Padang, Perak
Locality/Source: Village at Kampung Mak Teh, Jalan Tapah, Batang Padang
Cluster category: Community
First case: Feb 21, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 16 out of 150 screened

Jalan Ho Pin cluster
District(s): Samarahan, Kuching, and Serian, Sarawak
Locality/Source: Social function conducted in Kuching from Feb 11 until Feb 13
Cluster category: Community
First case: Feb 20, individual screening
Total infected: 14 out of 120 screened

Lorong Murni cluster
District(s): Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang
Locality/Source: Aged care facility at Lorong Murni 9, Taman Desa Murni, Seberang Perai Utara
Cluster category: High-risk group
First case: Feb 23, pre-surgery screening
Total infected: 21 out of 112 screened