KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia today recorded 1,228 Covid-19 cases, its highest-ever daily tally.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in his daily update, said this brings the country’s total infections to 25,742, of which 8,966 cases are active.
“Sabah continues to record the highest number of cases at 889 (72.4%). This is the most cases recorded in the state.
“Despite the high number, bed capacity at hospitals and quarantine centres is adequate. This is also a result of determined contact tracing in Sabah.
“Meanwhile Lembah Klang recorded 95 new cases. Of these, 29 are in current and new clusters.
“A total of 502 cases today are in the Kepayan Prison cluster, Seberang Prai Prison cluster, Remanded Custody cluster and Tembok cluster. These cases are isolated in prisons.”
Of the fresh infections, 11 are imported, involving three Malaysians and eight foreigners coming in from Singapore (5), Indonesia (3), China (2) and the United Arab Emirates (1).
Of the 889 cases in Sabah, 500 are in clusters, including eight from the new Mesra and Megah clusters, both in Sandakan. Close-contact screening led to 253 cases detected, while the remaining 136 are from virus testing.
The index case in the Mesra cluster was found positive for the coronavirus on October 7, and has been warded at Duchess of Kent Hospital. Another 21 cases were found following close-contact screening.
The Megah cluster, meanwhile, saw its index case testing positive on October 5, and close-contact screening led to another 14 cases detected.
Dr Noor Hisham said the other fresh clusters are Kaya in Seremban and Putrajaya (55 cases), Bah Kayu in Gombak and Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur (17), Baki in Kuching (5) and Kempas in Johor Bahru (8).
He reported another seven virus fatalities, taking the death toll to 221.
Ninety-two patients are in intensive care, with 31 on ventilators. – The Vibes, October 24, 2020
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