New COVID-19 cases in Malaysia climb to 12,017

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded a surge in new COVID-19 cases, which rose to 12,017, taking the total number of cases to 4,268,486 since the pandemic hit the country.

According to Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, from the total daily cases registered on April 5, 6,646 cases were from Category 1 while a total of 5,303 were from Category 2, followed by 28 cases under Category 3, with 15 under Category 4 and 25 under Category 5.

Dr Noor Hisham said there were 20,431 recoveries, which brings the cumulative number to 4,062,154 cases.

According to the data from the MInistry of Health (MOH) on the COVIDNOW website, there were 234 patients requiring treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while 131of them requiring breathing assistance.

With the emergence of one new cluster, the number of active clusters is now at 163.

So far, a total of 6,778 clusters have ended, Dr Noor Hisham said.

Meanwhile, the country also registered an increase in COVID-related deaths, with 33 new deaths logged, including 10 classified as brought-in-dead.

The cumulative number of deaths now stands at 35,160.