Covid-19: 432 new cases, highest daily increase (updated)

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia confirmed 432 new Covid-19 infections on Monday (Oct 5), the highest daily increase since the pandemic hit the country.

It involves 429 local transmissions and three imported cases.

This overtakes the 317-case record which was set just two days ago on Oct 3, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement on Monday.

Kedah has the most number of new cases on Monday with 231 infections followed by Sabah with 130.

Other states recording new cases are Selangor (34), Kuala Lumpur (seven), Terengganu (five), Labuan (five), Perak (two), Putrajaya (two), Johor (two), Sarawak (one), Pahang (one), Melaka (one), Negri Sembilan (one) and Kelantan (one).

Malaysia also discharged 57 patients, which means the total of recoveries is 10,340 or at a rate of 80.7%.

The total number of active cases in the country has now gone up to 2,336 cases.

Cumulatively, the country’s total number of cases since the outbreak began in January is 12,813.

Currently, 32 people are being treated at intensive care units with eight of them requiring ventilator support.

No fatalities were reported, which means the Covid-19 death toll in the country remains at 136 or at a rate of 1.07%.

Separately, Dr Noor Hisham confirmed that one of those present at the Covid-19 ministerial meeting at the Prime Minister’s Department is infected with the virus.

“The ministry would like to inform that an individual who attended a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Department on Oct 3 tested positive for Covid-19.

“At that time, the individual did not display any symptoms. The individual has been taken to hospital for isolation, observation and treatment according to the existing protocol for Covid-19 positive cases," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry has initiated contact tracing work as well as a screening of symptoms and swab tests.

“Close contacts who had been identified have been put under a home surveillance order (HSO) for 14 days from the day of exposure with the contact, ” he said.

Earlier, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri confirmed he tested positive for Covid-19.

The minister confirmed this on his Facebook page on Monday.

Dr Noor Hisham said the attendees of the ministerial meeting who have been identified as Zulkifli’s close contacts have also been placed on the HSO for 14 days from Oct 3.

However, Dr Noor Hisham said that those who attended the meeting but are not considered close contacts are not asked to be quarantined at home.

Instead they are asked to conduct self-health monitoring at home for 14 days using the "home assessment tool" in the MySejahtera app.

“They have been advised to seek treatment at a nearby health facility if they develop symptoms during that self-monitoring period, ” said Dr Noor Hisham.

Most of the ministers in the Cabinet attended the meeting on Oct 3, and Dr Noor Hisham himself attended the meeting.