Another Malaysian with virus variant detected

PETALING JAYA: A second case of a Malaysian infected with the contagious B117 Covid-19 strain has been detected, says the Health Ministry.

The man had just returned from the United Arab Emirates, though no further details were released.

The same virus was first discovered last December from a Malaysian returning from the United Kingdom.

This strain of Covid-19 was first detected in the United Kingdom last September and is believed to be more contagious than the original virus, although not more deadly or severe.

In delivering the daily statistics on Covid-19 case, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Malaysia recorded 3,391 new cases yesterday, bringing the total number to 234,874.

Over the same 24-hour span, 19 people died due to the virus, bringing the overall death toll to 845 or a 0.4% fatality rate.

Most of the deceased – aged 44 to 95 – had a history of co-morbidities such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease.

A total of 3,392 patients were also discharged, with the number of people who have recovered from Covid-19 since the pandemic began at 185,278 or 78.9% of all cases.

Currently, there are 48,751 active cases in the country.

Of this number, 310 are in intensive care units with 134 on ventilator support.

Selangor continued to be the state with the most Covid-19 cases, with 1,228 new infections recorded followed by Johor with 598 cases and Kuala Lumpur with 395 cases.

Dr Noor Hisham also said that a total of 15 new Covid-19 clusters was reported, with 12 of them linked to workplaces.