15-year-old girl among two to succumb to COVID-19 today

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the teen died at the Lahad Datu Hospital but no details were given on the victim’s health background.

“It saddens me to announce that there have been two deaths due to COVID-19 today, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in Malaysia to 446 (0.45 per cent of the total cases),” he said in a statement on the development of COVID-19 today.

The second victim was a 61-year-old man who died at the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan and was reported to have a history of high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and stroke.

In addition, Dr Noor Hisham said four new COVID-19 clusters were detected today in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, involving three workplaces.

The clusters are Sungai Burong cluster, as well as the three clusters involving workplaces, Kebun Baru cluster, Tapak Bina Jalan Tun cluster, and Jalan Pandan cluster.

The Sungai Burong cluster involved the Kuala Selangor district and the index case for the cluster is a Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) case that was reported COVID-19 positive on Dec 19.

“Until Dec 24, 167 individuals have been screened and 28 cases have been identified as COVID-19 positive in this cluster,” he said.

The Kebun Baru cluster involves the Kuala Langat district and the index case was reported COVID-19 positive on Dec 24 following a Covid-19 targeted screening conducted at a factory.

As of Dec 24, 580 individuals have been screened, with 95 cases testing positive in this cluster.

Dr Noor Hisham said the Tapak Bina Jalan Tun cluster involved Lembah Pantai district in Kuala Lumpur and the index case for this cluster was reported COVID-19 positive on Dec 24 via a targetted screening at a construction site.

“Until Dec 24, 177 individuals have been screened and 26 cases were found to be COVID-19 positive,” he said.

Meanwhile, the last cluster, Jalan Pandan cluster involved Lembah Pantai district, Cheras, Kepong, and Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur and Gombak, Petaling, Kuala Selangor and Hulu Langat districts in Selangor.

The index case for this cluster was reported COVID-19 positive on Dec 14 and as of Dec 24, 165 individuals have been screened, with 30 cases testing positive.