[UPDATED] Covid-19: 970 new cases, four deaths

KUALA LUMPUR – The country recorded 970 new cases of Covid-19 today, less than half of the record high of 2,188 yesterday.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said most of the infections were recorded in Negri Sembilan with 318 cases, followed by Sabah with 293 cases.

Selangor, which yesterday saw the highest daily rise faced by any state since the pandemic began, only recorded 115 cases today.

While concerns have mounted over the Teratai cluster, which recorded 1,067 cases yesterday, Noor Hisham said most of today’s cases were from clusters related to prisons.

Of the 970 cases today, five were imported. He said the ministry also recorded four deaths, while 110 cases were under intensive care and 47 required intubation.

Kuala Lumpur saw 44 cases, while Kedah recorded 24, Penang 14, Perak 80, Labuan 37, Johor 30, Sarawak two, Pahang two, and Kelantan eight.

Melaka, Terengganu, and Putrajaya saw one case each and Perlis recorded no cases.

On the deaths, Noor Hisham said the first involved a 73-year-old woman at Penang Hospital, while another two – aged 68 and 54 – died in Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sabah. Both of the victims in Sabah had prior conditions such as diabetes.

The other death is a 77-year-old woman in Labuan Hospital.

Asked about the Teratai cluster involving thousands of foreign workers from Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry had yet to see any spread in the community so far, despite having 164 Malaysian workers and 71 family members infected.

He said the ministry had also engaged with construction companies and employees of foreign labour to conduct screenings of their workers.

However, he said although the ministry initially predicted 13,000 infections from the Teratai cluster, which roughly amounts to the total number of workers employed by Top Glove in Meru, Klang, the estimated number was down to 11,215 cases. 

So far, the ministry has carried out more than 7,000 screenings on the workers, with those testing positive taken to hospital for quarantine and treatment.

Noor Hisham said that by November 24, 20 of Top Glove's factories in 28 factories were closed, but some of them could operate at a minimal capacity to ensure their machines do not break down.

Yesterday, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba announced the lifting of the mandatory 14-day quarantine for travellers arriving to other parts of the country from Sabah if they had tested negative and showed no symptoms.

Asked whether this was a timely decision, Noor Hisham said the cases in the state have reduced significantly over the past few weeks and that the ministry needed to balance out how public health policies were carried out in the country.

"Now there are more cases in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, which has more red zones, but we do not screen people for traveling between these places," he said.

Noor Hisham also said there were a total of 339 clusters, including five new ones reported today. The amount of clusters that have ended were at 170, with three clusters that have ended today, bringing the total active number of active clusters to 169.

He said the new clusters were the D'Bajari closter in Lahad Datu, Sabah (90 cases); the Gangsa cluster in Kuala Langat, Selangor (30 cases), the Batu Tujuh cluster in Batu Pahat and Johor Baru, Johor (30 cases), the Tanjung Bunga Cluster in Johor Baru, Johor (11 cases), and the Kerengge cluster in Marang, Terengganu (six cases). – The Vibes, November 25, 2020