COVID-19: Malaysia reports 235 new cases, death toll rises to 23

Meanwhile, a total of 235 new COVID-19 cases were reported as of noon today, bringing cumulative cases in the country to 2,031, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.

Of the new cases, 60 were linked to the Sri Petaling mosque tabligh cluster, while the remaining are still being investigated.

Noor Hisham Abdullah added that a total of 45 positive cases were being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with 32 of them placed under ventilator support.

According to Noor Hisham, the 20th COVID-19 casualty was a 76-year-old Malaysian man (Case-780) who participated in the tabligh event. He was admitted to Hospital Sultan Ismail Petra in Kelantan on 18 March 2020. He was pronounced dead on 25 March 2020 at 4.35pm.

Victim 21 was a 63-year old Malaysian man (Case-1588), also a participant of the tabligh gathering.He was admitted to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Kedah on 23 March and passed away on 26 March 2020 at 4am.

Victim 22 was a 48-year-old Malaysian man (Case-1797) with a history of chronic illnesses including diabetes and hypertension. He attended the tabligh gathering and had close contact with another COVID-19 positive participant. He was admitted to Hospital Enche' Besar Hajjah Khalsom, Johor and was pronounced dead on 23 March 2020 at 8.15pm.

Victim 23 was a 62-year-old Malaysian man (Case-1840) from Kajang with a history of chronic illness. He was admitted to Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Perak on 23 March 2020. He passed away on 25 March 2020 at 12.37pm. Noor Hisham said the ministry is still investigating the case to determine if it is linked to any COVID-19 cluster.

In another development, 16 cases have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals, said Noor Hisham.

This brings the number of recovered cases to 215 so far.

Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said eighty healthcare staff of the Health Ministry have tested positive for COVID-19 but none contracted the disease from managing COVID-19 positive patients