COVID-19: 150 new cases, four more deaths - Health D-G

A total of 150 new COVID-19 positive cases and four more fatalities have been reported as at noon today, bringing the total number of cases to 3,483.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of the new cases, 80 were linked to the Seri Petaling tabligh gathering cluster.

He said the latest fatalities brought the death toll to 57, which is 1.64 per cent of the total number of cases.

“The 54th death (case 2,149) involved an 85-year-old Malaysian woman with a history of heart disease. She was treated at the National Heart Institute (IJN) on March 23 and confirmed to have died at 12.10 am on March 28.

“The 55th fatality (case 860) was a 66-year-old Malaysian woman with a history of high blood pressure. She was treated at the Sultan Ismail Petra Hospital, Kelantan on March 18 and died on April 3 at 4 pm,” he said at the daily COVID-19 press conference here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said the 56th death (case 2,850) was a 56-year-old Malaysian man with a history of heart ailment and also a close contact of patient No 1,031.

“He was treated at the Sarawak General Hospital on March 30 and confirmed to have died at 4.16 pm on April 3.

“The 57th fatality was a 61-year-old Malaysian man who suffered from diabetes. He was treated at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan, Pahang on March 23. He died on April 3 at 10.25 pm,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said that 99 patients were undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with 50 needing respiratory assistance.

He said 88 patients were discharged today, bringing the total number of patients fully recovered to 915, which is 26.27 per cent of the total number of cases.

He said 1,545 or 44.36 per cent of the 3,483 positive cases were linked to the Seri Petaling tabligh gathering.

“This is the biggest cluster so far and it has led to several generations of infection clusters, for example involving their family members, close contacts at the mosque and also tahfiz madrasah,” he added.

-- BERNAMA