[UPDATED] 207 Covid-19 deaths in new daily high; cases slide to 14,516

KUALA LUMPUR – The country’s daily Covid-19 caseload today dipped to 14,516 from yesterday’s record high of 17,045.

Selangor accounts for 6,508 fresh infections, followed by Johor (1,449) and Kuala Lumpur (1,425).

Kedah logged 1,160 cases, Sabah (720), Perak (590), Negri Sembilan (452), Penang (402), Pahang (386), Melaka (373), Sarawak (356) and Kelantan (346).

Terengganu saw 245 cases, Putrajaya (94), Labuan (8) and Perlis (2).

The latest infections take the national tally to 1,027,954.

The Health Ministry also reported a record-high 207 new coronavirus fatalities, pushing up the toll to 8,201.

Of the 1,009 patients in intensive care – also a new record – 524 are on respiratory support.

Another 9,372 recoveries take the total to 853,913.

Meanwhile, four longhouses, a school and a village in Sarawak have been placed under the two-week enhanced movement control order.

The state Disaster Management Committee secretariat today said the affected localities are Rumah Jamu, Rumah Pantau, Kg Tuang and Ruman Regina in Sarikei district, Rumah Suring in Beluru, and SK Sg Bain in Tinjar.

Of the state’s 356 new infections, Kuching recorded 243. Simunjan saw 31 cases, Bintulu (17), Tatau (15), Sibu (10) and Miri (2), among other districts.

Sarawak registered two clusters, but no new deaths.

The Jalan Tatau Selangau cluster saw 18 workers of an oil palm estate infected, while the Gom Tujuh cluster in Bintulu saw 24 shipyard workers testing positive.

Dr Noor Hisham said only 1.8% of today’s today number of infections are classified under categories three to five.

He added that 98.2% of the cases fell under categories one and two, of which 92% had no history of Covid-19 vaccination.

Dr Noor Hisham said of the total 207 deaths, 57 were recorded in Selangor, followed by Kuala Lumpur (52), Johor (24), Kedah (19), Melaka (18), Negri Sembilan (14), Pahang (seven) and Sabah (six).

Perak logged five fatalities, followed by Penang (three), and Terengganu (two).

He said the country has 3,485 clusters, including 33 clusters today.

Clusters that have ended are at 2,480, while 1,005 clusters remained active.

He added that 21 of today’s clusters are related to workplaces, 10 from the community, and two others in education centres.

The new cluster with the highest number of cases is the Industri Jalan Perdana cluster in Pontian, Johor with 215 cases, while the one with the lowest caseload was the Lorong Yusof Bongsu cluster in Pasir Mas, Kelantan with five cases. – The Vibes, July 26, 2021