[UPDATED] Record-high 17,045 cases push Covid-19 caseload to over 1 mil

KUALA LUMPUR – A whopping 17,045 new Covid-19 cases – an all-time high – pushed the country’s total caseload to more than one million today.

A year and a half after the global Covid-19 pandemic hit Malaysian shores, the caseload has now breached the million mark, standing at 1,013,438.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Malaysians must continue to comply with standard operating procedures to break the chain of infections and protect themselves against Covid-19.

“The higher the compliance, the sooner we can break the transmission as we did last year. Secondly, we need to get vaccinated as soon as possible to give us internal protection,” he told The Vibes today.

“Once we are vaccinated we can live side by side with the virus.”

Selangor again recorded the highest number of infections with 8,500, followed by Kuala Lumpur (2,045), Kedah (1,216), Johor (950), Sabah (818), Perak (609), Penang (573) and Negri Sembilan (513).

States with fewer than 500 infections are Pahang (424), Sarawak (407), Melaka (370), Terengganu (273), Kelantan (266), Putrajaya (50), Labuan (21) and Perlis (10).

Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of the 17,045 cases today, only 124 are in Category 4 and require oxygen, and 187 in Category 5 and critical condition.

Malaysia mourned 92 deaths today, bringing the toll to six shy of 8,000.

Of the total, Selangor claimed 27 fatalities, Johor (23), Kuala Lumpur (12), Negri Sembilan (11), Melaka (5), Kedah (4), Pahang (3), Sabah (2), Sarawak (2), Perak (1), Terengganu (1) and Labuan (1).

A total of 9,683 patients recovered, while 970 are in intensive care, of which 501 require breathing aid.

Since the pandemic began, 844,541 individuals have recovered from Covid-19.

The nation’s infectivity rate stands at 1.11.

Terengganu has the highest rate at (1.36), followed by Kelantan (1.29) and Kedah (1.23).

All states have a rate higher than 1.00, except Labuan (0.69) and Perlis (0).

The Health Ministry reported 34 new clusters today.

Of the new clusters, 18 are from workplaces in Kedah, Perak, Pahang, Selangor, Terengganu, Negri Sembilan, Johor and Sabah. They recorded 778 cases.

Fifteen are from communities in Kedah, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Pahang, Kelantan and Sabah. They logged 522 cases.

One high-risk group cluster in Sabah recorded 14 cases.

Kedah also hit a record high today, with 1,216 infections in less than 24 hours. The state registered 867 infections yesterday.

Kedah Health Department director Dr Othman Warijo said a quarter of all cases in the state stem from a construction site at Kuala Muda, which reported 353 infections today.

“The Dah Tapak Bina Pauh cluster in Pendang involves local and foreign workers, whom we tested after we were informed on one index case.

“It is believed that they (the workers) did not follow standard operating procedures while working, and the infection spread as they stayed, conversed and dined together.

“The workers’ dormitory and Pendang Hospital construction site will be under an enhanced movement control order from today to August 8.”

He said there is no reported infection from Hari Raya Aidiladha celebrations, but added that it is still too early to come to any conclusion.

Of the new cases in the state today, most fall under Categories 1 and 2, he added.

“Therefore, we can still manage in terms of intensive care units.”

The two main hospitals in Kedah are Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital in Sg Petani and Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star. – The Vibes, July 25, 2021