COVID-19: Five new cases, recoveries at 97.7 per cent - Health DG

Five new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Malaysia today, bringing the cumulative figure to 8,663 cases, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said four more cases had recovered and been discharged as of noon today, raising the total number of recoveries to 8,465, or 97.7 per cent of the cumulative figure for cases.

The number of active cases with infectivity was 77, he added.

“Of the five new cases, three are imported cases involving two Malaysians and one foreigner, while the other two cases are local transmissions involving Malaysians,” he said in a statement today.

On the two local transmission cases, Dr Noor Hisham said they were detected during pre-surgery screenings, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Sabah and a medical centre in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

Dr Noor Hisham said no fatalities had been reported since June 15, keeping the death toll at 121, or 1.39 per cent of the total number of cases.

He said only two positive cases were being treated in the intensive care unit and both were on ventilator support.

He also announced the closure of two residential clusters today -- the Gombak Cluster and Cheras Flats Cluster.

“The Gombak Cluster was reported on May 18, 2020 following active case detection of COVID-19 positive cases at some quarters in Gombak. As of July 4, a total of 200 people have been screened and five positive cases detected involving Malaysians.

“The Cheras Flats Cluster was reported on June 1, 2020 following active case detection of positive COVID-19 cases at some flats in Cheras. As of July 4, a total of 144 people have been screened and eight found to be positive. This cluster has a positive case involving an Indonesian while the rest are Malaysians,” said Dr Noor Hisham.

He said the first cases for both clusters were detected during screening of tahfiz students, who were identified to be among the high-risk groups.

The targeted approach adopted by the Health Ministry (MOH) had helped to detect many COVID-19 cases in the country, he added.

“I am pleased to announce that the investigations conducted show that no other positive COVID-19 cases were found in the two affected tahfiz centres," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham thanked all those involved in detecting cases and curbing the spread of the coronavirus at the two clusters.

-- BERNAMA