KUALA LUMPUR April 28 — More education institutions and religious-related Covid-19 clusters have been detected by the Ministry of Health (MOH), totalling five out of the 12 clusters today.

Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this brings the total number of clusters detected in Malaysia to 1,626, with 1,256 deemed to have ended and another 370 still active.

“Today’s clusters include the clusters of Melugu and Ulu Strauss in Sarawak, the Madai cluster in Sabah, the clusters of Layar Hujung and Pintu Air Relau in Kedah, the clusters of Jalan Gombak Dua, Jalan Sekinchan, and Leboh Gambus in Selangor, the Jalan Maharajalela cluster in Perak, the clusters of Taman Wira and Jalan Bakariah in Johor and the Jalan Rimbunan cluster in KL Federal Territory,” he said in a statement.

The education institution clusters include Melugu, Madai, Layar Hujung, and Jalan Gombak Dua, while the religious cluster is Leboh Gambus.

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“Starting with the Melugu cluster in the districts of Sri Aman and Lubuk Antu, its index case is the 394,648th first reported on Monday (April 26) following a screening on symptomatic individuals.

“The cluster involves the staff and students of a school. As of today, 582 individuals have been screened, with 13 testing positive,” Dr Noor Hisham said.

The index case for the Madai cluster in the districts of Lahad Datu and Kunak is the 354,937th, who was first reported on April 8 following a screening on symptomatic individuals.

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The cluster involves the staff and students of a school. As of today, 45 people have been screened, with 30 testing positive.

“The Layar Hujung cluster in Kuala Muda district was first reported yesterday, with its index case the 398,303rd who was detected after screening on symptomatic individuals.

“This cluster involves the staff and students at an educational institution. As of today, 45 people have been screened, with 23 testing positive,” he said.

The Jalan Gombak Dua cluster includes the districts of Gombak and Hulu Langat in Selangor, the Titiwangsa district in KL Federal Territory and the Putrajaya Federal Territory. Its index case is the 396,349th, who was first reported yesterday following a screening on symptomatic individuals.

The cluster involves the staff at an educational institution. As of today, 78 people have been screened, with 19 testing positive.

“The Leboh Gambus cluster in Klang district was first reported last Monday (April 19) with its index case the 375,474th, who was detected after screening on symptomatic individuals.

“The name of the cluster is derived from the localities in which the cases were reported to emerge. As of today, 123 people have been screened, with 61 testing positive,” Dr Noor Hisham said.

The seven remaining clusters include four community clusters, two workplace-related clusters and a high-risk group-related cluster.

The number of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia has surpassed 3,000 nationwide, with 3,142 cases recorded by the ministry today.

Similarly, a number of schools have been ordered to close temporarily following a spike in infections, including 17 schools in Kedah, Penang and Negri Sembilan yesterday.

On the same grounds, 79 schools in Selangor were ordered to close temporarily from Monday to yesterday.

The fasting month of Ramadan has brought about renewed fears of more Covid-19 infections, due to the crowded nature of its bazaars.

On April 11, the Kelantan state government cancelled all Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri bazaars for this year, while Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said on April 15 that his ministry will shut down Ramadan bazaars under its supervision if they are hit by infections.