Covid-19: New record of 4,029 daily cases, eight fatalities bring death toll to 594

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia reported 4,029 more Covid-19 infections on Saturday (Jan 16), making it the highest number of daily cases recorded for the nation.

Prior to this, the most number of cases in a day was 3,337 on Jan 14 and 3,309 on Jan 12.

There were also eight Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, taking the death toll to 594.

Selangor recorded the highest number of cases with 1,466, followed by Johor (719), Sabah (449), Kuala Lumpur (347), and Negri Sembilan (214).

The cases reported on Saturday were due to activities or movements before Jan 13, said the Health Ministry in a brief tweet.

Dr Noor Hisham said the number of people with active Covid-19 infections in Malaysia is now up to 37,126 cases.

The country now has 155,095 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic last year.

However there were also 2,148 Covid-19 patients who were discharged, bringing the number of patients who have recovered from the virus to 117,375 or 75.7% of the total number of cases.

Currently, there are 205 patients in the intensive care unity, with 79 requiring ventilator support.

Dr Noor Hisham said as of Jan 16, there are 641 clusters reported, including six new clusters recorded.

Three of the new clusters identified were in Johor. They are Senai Cyber cluster in Kulai, Tembok Nanas cluster in Pontian, and Jalan Sembrong cluster in Kluang.

The other clusters include Jalan Permata in Seremban, Taman Juta cluster in Hilir Perak and Kampung Lebu cluster.

The Kampung Lebu cluster was related to a wedding and tahlil recitation in Bentong and Kuantan districts respectively in Pahang.

The index cluster tested Covid-19 positive on Jan 5 and further screenings were done on family members and guests at the event. From that screening, 20 more individuals were tested positive.

Till Jan 16,80 individuals were screened and a total of 21 tested positive for this cluster, said Dr Noor Hisham.

Dr Noor Hisham said from the 641 clusters, 356 have ended, while 285 clusters are actively monitored.

He said 71 out of the active clusters that reported an increase in new cases. Among the clusters reported include Sungai Putus cluster (336 cases), Bukit Pasir cluster (189) and Senai Cyber cluster (111).