[UPDATED] 2,461 fresh Covid-19 cases today, Kelantan second-highest contributor

KUALA LUMPUR – The number of Covid-19 recoveries continue to outpace new infections, with 4,782 individuals having recovered today, almost double the number of fresh cases of 2,461.

Not since February 10 have new cases outnumbered recoveries.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that eight new deaths were reported today, bringing the total number of fatalities to 1,051.

Four of these were in Sarawak, while there were one death each in Selangor, Sabah, Perak and Kelantan.

The new infections today meant the cumulative tally now stands at 280,272, while total recoveries are at 244,753.

With the latest update, there are now 34,468 active cases.

Dr Noor Hisham said of the new infections today, 1,589 are Malaysians, while the remaining 872 are foreigners.

Some 298 of today’s cases also involve clusters related to prisons and immigration detention centres.

He said 1,001 of today’s cases (40.7%) were recorded in Selangor, the highest in the country, with 757 of them identified through active contact tracing and existing clusters.

This is followed by Kelantan (257 cases) – which is almost half of what it recorded over the past 14 days – Johor (233 cases), and Kuala Lumpur (230).

He said the high number of infections in Kelantan is largely due to the transfer of prisoners from Dungun, Terengganu – which has just ended its enhanced movement control order – to the Pengkalan Chepa Prison, with a total of 146 cases.

Meanwhile, he said there are 207 Covid-19 individuals currently admitted to the intensive care unit, of which 91 require ventilator support.

There are also 10 new clusters that have been identified today, all of which involve workplaces, with four of them in Johor, two each in Selangor and Perak, and one each in Sabah and Negri Sembilan.

With this, there are now a total of 1,068 clusters nationwide recorded since the start of the pandemic, of which 510 are still active.

Johor’s clusters – Jalan Lapangan Terbang (41), Jalan Tg Enam (17), Jalan Wawasan 14 (17) and Batu Dua Setengah (7) – have 82 new infections.

In Selangor, the two clusters – Jalan Perusahaan Satu (43) and Perdana Tiga (52) – have a total of 95 cases.

Perak’s Jalan Pelabuhan cluster in Manjung has logged 15 cases while the Batu Sebelas cluster recorded 11 infections.

The Jalan Pasar cluster in Kota Belud, Sabah found 13 cases out of the 180 individuals screened.

Lastly, the Kasia construction site cluster in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, has 51 new cases following a screening of 155 people. – The Vibes, February 20, 2021