10,972 new COVID cases today - Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR: The country is still reporting more than 10,000 COVID-19 new cases when 10,972 cases were recorded today, bringing the cumulative total to 927,533 cases.

In a tweet, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Selangor was still the top contributor with 4,404 new cases detected.

This was followed by Negeri Sembilan with 1,340 cases, Johor (876), Kedah (705), Sabah (651), Kuala Lumpur (609), Pahang (475), Melaka (474), Penang (426), Perak (324), Sarawak (301), Kelantan (170) and Terengganu (144).

Putrajaya reported 48 cases, Labuan (24) and Perlis with one case.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham in a statement said from 10,972 new cases, 48 cases were imported and 10,924 were local transmissions involving 8,950 locals and 1,974 foreigners.

From the daily total, 26 cases or 0.2 per cent were in category five (critical and needing respiratory assistance), 42 cases or 0.4 per cent in category four (requiring oxygen), 103 people or 0.9 per cent in category three (pneumonia), 4,464 people or 40.7 per cent in category two (mild symptoms) and 6,337 cases or 57.8 per cent in category one (asymptomatic).

"There were 128,997 active cases recorded including 915 patients placed at intensive care unit (ICU) and 435 more patients requiring respiratory assistance," he said.

He said 129 fatalities were recorded involving 118 locals and 11 foreigners, dropping from 153 cases yesterday.

The death toll involved 61 victims in Selangor, 14 (Perak), 11 (Kuala Lumpur), 10 each (Negeri Sembilan and Melaka), nine (Johor), three each (Sarawak and Terengganu), two each (Sabah, Penang and Perak) as well as one each in Kelantan and Labuan.

This brings the overall death toll to 7,148 people while 6,439 patients were discharged.

According to him, MOH detected 31 new clusters with 18 linked to workplace, eight involving community, two each involving detention centre and high-risk group and one import cluster.

Dr Noor Hisham also said the COVID-19 rate of infectivity or R-naught (Rt) recorded in Malaysia yesterday was 1.15 with highest Rt states in Terengganu at 1.27, followed by Putrajaya (1.26) and Kedah (1.24).

Other states recording Rt above 1.0 were Sabah (1.21); Selangor (1.17); Penang and Pahang (1.16); Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan (1.15); Johor, Melaka and Perak (1.12) as well as Kelantan (1.10).

In this regard, Dr Noor Hisham said MOH wishes "Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha" to all Muslims who will be celebrating the festival tomorrow.

"Hopefully we learn from meaning of sacrifice and appreciate it in our daily life," he said.

On other development, Dr Noor Hisham said none of healthcare workers who were infected with COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated, were in category five - which requires ICU admission.

He revealed that out of 3,465 fully vaccinated healthcare workers who were infected with the virus, only three cases each were in category three (pneumonia) and category four (requiring oxygen), while the remaining 2,327 cases (67.2 per cent) were in category two (mild symptoms) and 1,132 cases (37.6 per cent) in category one (no symptoms).

-- BERNAMA