KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — Five states and one Federal Territory have maintained their status quo in terms of recorded Covid-19 cases as Malaysia enters the final day of phase two of the expanded movement control order (MCO), the latest Health Ministry data released today showed.

According to the ministry’s latest data, the five peninsula states of Penang, Kedah, Pahang, Melaka and Perlis, as well as East Malaysia’s Labuan, did not record any increase of Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours.

In contrast, Negri Sembilan recorded the highest increase of Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, from 318 cases on April 12 to 360 cases on April 13, an increase of 42 cases.

As for the states which recorded the least number of new cases, both Putrajaya and Kelantan top the list at two new cases, followed by Perak with three new cases and Terengganu with four new cases.

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The newly recorded Covid-19 cases for the remaining states are as followed, Kuala Lumpur (27); Johor (21); Sabah (14); Selangor (13) and Sarawak (6).

Last week, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said the measures taken to date have been pivotal and there were signs of success in reducing the number of cases.

The success, he said, stemmed from swift action by the authorities to tighten borders, restrict movement, prohibit large gatherings and practise social distancing.

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Top red zone in KL for 11 days straight

The country’s top red zone for 11 consecutive days is the Lembah Pantai district in Kuala Lumpur, with a total tally of 515 Covid-19 cases as of April 13.

The Lembah Pantai district’s total cumulative tally had steadily increased over the past eight days as the nationwide top spot at 322 cases (April 3), 367 cases (April 4), 376 cases (April 5), 386 cases (April 6), 412 cases (April 7), 417 cases (April 8), 424 cases (April 9), 427 cases (April 10), 459 (April 11) and 496 (April 12).

This would also mean that the Lembah Pantai district also held the record for most Covid-19 cases reported for almost 78 per cent of the entirety of phase two of the MCO which began on April 1.

While the top red zone has been in Kuala Lumpur for the past 11 days, the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur is only the second most-affected at 830 cases so far, as compared to worst-hit state Selangor at 1,249 cases as of April 13.

Of the total red zones, three are located in Sabah and Sarawak while the remaining 23 are districts in the peninsula.

Every cloud has a silver lining

Malaysia recorded no new red zones as of April 13, with the current tally standing at 26.

As of April 13, the number of Covid-19 cases in the 26 red zones nationwide are: Lembah Pantai (515), Hulu Langat (419), Petaling (346), Kuching (227), Seremban (260), Kluang (201), Johor Baru (183), Klang (164), Gombak (133), Kepong (126), Titiwangsa (116), Kinta (93), Kota Baru (90), Kuantan (80), Tawau (79), Cheras (73), Jerantut (70), Jasin (68),Sepang (66), Hilir Perak (65), Putrajaya (54), Rembau (53), Batu Pahat (51), Kota Samarahan (49), Melaka Tengah (48), and Hulu Selangor (45).

Taken together, the 26 red zones have a combined total of 3,674 Covid-19 cases recorded so far.

As of April 13, no green zones have been lost, with the number of districts with zero Covid 19-cases reported so far still standing at 28 districts in five states throughout the country.

The remaining 28 green zones are spread across three districts in three peninsula states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu while the remaining 25 zones are spread across eight districts in Sabah and 17 districts in Sarawak.

Originally, however, in the first batch of data released by the Health Ministry, Malaysia had a total of 39 districts in seven states on March 25 that had zero Covid-19 cases.

On April 10, Putrajaya had announced the MCO enforced nationwide has been extended for two more weeks until April 28, just a few days after the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin then explained that the decision was taken to give space to healthcare workers to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to prevent the recurrence of infection.

As of April 13, the total cumulative tally of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia is 4,817, and the death toll stands at 77.