[UPDATED] Covid-19: 1,109 new cases and 1,148 recoveries

KUALA LUMPUR – The number of Covid-19 recoveries today exceeded the number of positive cases, as health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced 1,148 for the former and 1,109 for the latter. 

Today’s recoveries, said Noor Hisham in his daily update, brought the country’s total number of recoveries to 50,204, while total infections now stands at 61,861. 

The bulk of the new positive cases came from Sabah (441 cases), followed by Selangor (175), Negri Sembilan (167), Kuala Lumpur (154), Penang (64), Perak (42), Johor (33), Kedah (25), Kelantan (5) and Pahang (3).

No new cases were reported in Perlis, Terengganu, Melaka and Sarawak.

Currently, 113 people are being treated at intensive care units, with 41 of them on ventilators.

Four new Covid-19 clusters have also been detected, namely Jalan Tuaran (Sabah), Jalan Haruan (Negri Sembilan), Puteh Lama construction site (Kuala Lumpur) and Beringin (Penang).

Of the 176 active clusters, 47 saw new cases.

There were also two fresh fatalities, bringing the nation's death toll from the pandemic to 350.

Meanwhile, asked about multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer's announcement that it will ship 12.8 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine – BNT162 mRNA-based – for 6.4 million Malaysians, Noor Hisham said that the ministry has yet to receive the vaccine's technical report.

“We have engaged ten vaccine manufacturers that are in the third phase (of their vaccines’ clinical trial). But until now, we have yet to receive any report from them.”

“What we have been hearing are their success stories in the media. We are still waiting for their technical report.”

“Even then, the vaccine needs to be registered; either with the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) or European Medicines Agency or NPRA (Malaysia’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency),” said Noor Hisham.

He stressed that there are a total of 12 Covid-19 vaccines that are undergoing the third phase of their respective clinical trial involving at least half a million test subjects, but Malaysia has not received any technical reports on them.

“We need to see the data. To see what the side-effects are. But we don’t have (that data yet),” he remarked.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin earlier today announced that an early purchase agreement has been inked with Pfizer to immunise 20% of the population which will not include children under 12 years of age.

“Pfizer also promised delivery of one million doses of the vaccine in the first quarter of 2021, followed by 1.7 million doses in the second quarter, 5.8 million doses in the third quarter and 4.3 million doses in the final quarter of 2021,” said Muhyiddin at a press conference at his office in Putrajaya.

Meanwhile, when asked whether it is safe for Malaysians to use gloves manufactured by Top Glove Corporation Bhd given the Covid-19 boom at its workers’ dormitories, Noor Hisham said that so far there have been “no reports of infection coming from the company’s gloves.” – The Vibes, November 27, 2020