COVID-19: Five new clusters identified - Dr Noor Hisham

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this takes the total number of clusters so far in Malaysia to 511, of which 225 are active clusters being monitored.

He said the first of the five new clusters is the Jalan Gajah cluster in Klang, Selangor, which involved infections in the workplace, with the first case detected on Dec 13 through targetted screening at a factory.

“As of today (Dec 31), a total of 90 individuals have been screened, 22 of whom tested positive in this cluster," he said in a statement on COVID-19 developments here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said the Jalan Datuk Cluster involved Titiwangsa, Kepong and Lembah Pantai districts in Kuala Lumpur, Klang and Hulu Langat districts in Selangor and also Putrajaya.

He said the cluster was first detected on Dec 26 last year and to date, 23 have tested positive for COVID-19.

Dr Noor Hisham said the third cluster, the Kampung Baharu Cluster, involved the Johor Baharu and Pontian districts in Johor, with cases first identified on Dec 23 through targeted screening at a factory and via close contact screening.

To date, a total of 194 individuals have been screened, of which 35 have tested positive, said Dr Noor Hisham.

Dr Noor Hisham said the Pekeliling Cluster was also detected in the workplace, in Johor Bahru, through screening at a factory on Dec 21.

"As of today (Dec 31) a total of 185 individuals have been screened in this cluster with 27 so far testing positive,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the fifth cluster, the Jalan Rasah cluster in Seremban and Putrajaya involved a Severe Acute Respiratory case first detected on Dec 23.

"To date, 17 out of 47 individuals screened in the cluster are positive COVID-19," he said.

Meanwhile, three clusters were declared as ended today, namely the Teduh cluster in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Jaya cluster in Sepang and Seremban and the Berendam cluster in Alor Gajah and Melaka Tengah in Melaka, he said.