New COVID-19 cases below 2,000 for 14th straight day, two deaths Friday - Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Malaysia has stayed below 2,000 for 14 consecutive days, with 1,576 cases reported today, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the latest infections reported over the last 24 hours brought the cumulative figure for positive cases to 330,042, of which 14,360 are active cases.

The new daily cases last breached the 2,000-mark on March 5, when 2,154 cases were reported.

"Of the new cases reported today, 1,565 are local transmissions involving 867 Malaysians and 698 foreigners while 11 are imported cases affecting eight locals and three foreigners," he said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account.

"Two fatalities involving locals and 1,996 recoveries were reported over the same 24-hour period, bringing the cumulative figure for recovered cases to 314,457," he added.

Meanwhile, in his media statement, Dr Noor Hisham said Sarawak topped the new cases today with 407, followed by Selangor (348); Penang (182); Kuala Lumpur (175); Johor (137) and Perak (100).

Melaka recorded 54 cases; Kelantan, 52; Negeri Sembilan, 41; Sabah, 33; Kedah, 25; Pahang, 13; Terengganu, six; Labuan, two; Putrajaya, one; and Perlis, nil.

He said the two deaths involved Malaysian men aged 71 and 51, one of whom had chronic diseases.

Dr Noor Hisham said 12 new clusters were detected, 10 of them involving workplaces and two at detention centres.

Four workplace clusters are in Johor - Sungai Berumbung, Lorong Usaha Utama, Jalan Dahlia and Jalan Industri Sofa - and three are in Kuala Lumpur, namely Jalan Besar Kepong, Jalan Daun and Lorong Nibong.

The other three workplace clusters are in Selangor, involving Persiaran Cybersouth Building Site, Persiaran Hemisfera and Bandar Baru, while the detention centre clusters are Juru DTI in Penang and Jalan Duta DTI in Kuala Lumpur.

The new clusters brought the number of clusters in the country to 1,288, with 427 clusters still active.

He said 861 clusters had been declared closed, including 13 today.

-- BERNAMA