COVID: Record high 47 fatalities today - Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of daily COVID-19 fatalities in the country reached a new high today, with 47 recorded in the past 24 hours to take the death toll to 1,994.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the majority of cases reported were in the Klang Valley, with Selangor recording 18 cases and Kuala Lumpur four; followed by five cases each in Sarawak and Penang; four each in Johor and Kelantan; Perak (three); Pahang (two) and one each in Kedah and Negeri Sembilan.

He said the deaths involved 46 Malaysians and one foreigner, all aged between 41 and 94, with the majority having chronic diseases.

Meanwhile, the number of new COVID-19 cases also increased, with 4,865 cases recorded today compared to 4,446 yesterday, bringing the country's total number of infections to 479,421.

"Selangor again recorded the highest number of daily cases with 1,743 cases, followed by Sarawak (512) and Kuala Lumpur (477)," he said in a statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said Johor, meanwhile, recorded 407 cases, followed by Kelantan (406), Kedah (244), Penang (220), Perak (160), Terengganu (156), Pahang (152), Negeri Sembilan (149), Melaka (127), Sabah (95), Putrajaya (nine), Labuan (six) and Perlis (two).

He said that of the new cases, 4,860 were local transmissions and five were imported cases while the number of active cases stood at 44,827.

There are also 531 patients in the intensive care units, with 277 of them requiring ventilator support.

He also said that 19 new clusters were detected today, with seven at workplaces, five religious-related clusters, four involving the community as well as one cluster each involving an institution of higher learning, an Education Ministry institution and a private institution registered with the Education Ministry.

“The workplace clusters are in Jalan Petaling Industri and Jalan Besi Satu in Johor; Utarid Sembilan Belas and Jalan Kampung Taib (Selangor); Dah Helang and Dah Arked (Kedah); and Bayan Lepas Innoplex in Penang.

“The religious clusters are Jalan Bukit Mutiara in Johor; Jalan Helang Siput (Kuala Lumpur); Kampung Kemuning (Melaka); Jalan Batu Dua (Negeri Sembilan) and Banggol (Terengganu),” he said.

The community clusters are Hulu Spaoh and Jelang in Sarawak; Seri Sutra (Perak); and Jambu Bongkok (Terengganu); while the remaining clusters are Jalan Sri Putri Empat in Johor (Education Ministry institution); Gong Badak in Terengganu (institution of higher learning); and Jalan Lima Belas in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur (private education institution).

-- BERNAMA