[UPDATED] Almost 16,000 new Covid-19 cases today; 184 deaths

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia recorded 15,902 fresh Covid-19 infections today, once again topping the previous high.

Selangor recorded 7,351 cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur (2,406), Kedah (867), Johor (804), Sabah (712), Melaka (631), Negri Sembilan (625), Penang (505) and Kelantan (502).

Perak recorded 469 cases, Pahang (406), Terengganu (267), Sarawak (261), Putrajaya (59), Labuan (30) and Perlis (7).

The nation registered 184 deaths today, bringing the toll to 7,902.

Out of the total, Selangor claimed 87 deaths, Kedah (17), Pahang (16), Negri Sembilan (15), Kuala Lumpur (13), Johor (10), Sabah (8), Melaka (7), Penang (6) and Terengganu (3).

A total of 9,471 patients recovered, while 950 are still in intensive care units, of which 468 require breathing aid.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said out of the 15,902 cases today, only 129 are in Category 4 and require oxygen, and 260 in Category 5 and critical condition.

A bulk of the cases is in Category 1 (8,485 patients), who are asymptomatic, he added.

Overall, at the start of diagnosis, 3.2% of cases reported today are in Categories 3 to 5, and 96.8% in Categories 1 and 2, which are low-risk infections.

Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun tweeted that the state recorded its all-time high number of cases today, with 712.

He said there are no longer zero-case districts in Sabah.

The Health Ministry said Malaysia’s infectivity rate now stands at an average of 1.09.

Terengganu has the highest rate with 1.37, followed by Kedah (1.23) and Penang (1.22).

All states have a rate higher than 1.00, except Labuan (0.71) and Perlis (0).

The ministry also reported 27 new clusters today.

Of the new clusters, 15 are from workplaces in Kedah, Perak, Pahang, Kelantan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Johor. They recorded 526 cases in total today.

Seven originated from communities in Selangor, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Sabah. They recorded 220 cases.

Two detention centre clusters in Johor and Kelantan reported 74 cases; a high-risk group cluster in Sabah has 35; and, an import cluster in Johor has 10.

In Sarawak, 261 fresh infections and two deaths were reported.

The victims are a 75-year-old man in Kuching and 90-year-old man in Miri. The death toll in the state now stands at 455.

Kuching recorded 199 cases today, followed by Lundu (25), Pakan (23), Saratok (17), Serian (13) and Tg Manis (12), while other districts have fewer than 10 each. – The Vibes, July 24, 2021