.jpg "A container which doubles as a morgue is pictured at the Kepala Batas Hospital in Penang August 20, 2021. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Sayuti Zainudin")
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 ― The Health Ministry has recorded 23,564 new Covid-19 cases today, making it the highest number of daily cases in Malaysia so far.
Its director-general Tan Sri Noor Hisham Abdullah said Selangor remains the state with the highest number of cases at 6,974.
“The second highest state or territory is Sabah with 2,738 cases, followed by Sarawak with 2,548 cases,” he said in a statement.
The state with the lowest number of Covid-19 cases is Labuan with one case, followed by Putrajaya Federal Territory with 24 and Perlis with 64.
Kedah and Penang have seen a surge in cases lately, at 1,932 and 1,523 respectively for today alone.
“Of today’s daily figures, 23,541 cases or 83.7 per cent overall involve Malaysians, while the remaining 3,827 cases or 16.3 per cent are foreign citizens.
“The majority of today’s cases, 23,133 cases or 98.2 per cent, fall into Categories One and Two, in which the individuals display little to no symptoms. Only 431 cases or 1.8 per cent fall into Categories Three, Four, and Five,” Dr Noor Hisham said.
He added that 19,362 of the 23,564 new infections today, or 82.2 per cent, are unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated individuals.
“In total, approximately 1,513,024 cumulative cases have been recorded in Malaysia.
“Meanwhile, the ministry recorded 21,448 recoveries for today, bringing the total number of recoveries from Covid-19 in the country to 1,513,024 cases,” Dr Noor Hisham said.
The latest basic reproduction number (R0) for Covid-19 as of today stands at 1.04. The director-general said most states still remain above the 1.0 value.
“The state with the highest R0 is Perlis, at 1.31, followed by Sabah with 1.22 and Sarawak with 1.21.
“All other states and territories excluding KL Federal Territory, Putrajaya Federal Territory, Labuan Federal Territory, and Negri Sembilan, still register an R0 above 1.0,” he said.
The ministry also recorded the emergence of 38 new Covid-19 clusters today, bringing the total number of clusters in Malaysia to 4,386.
“Of this number, 2,964 have since been deemed to have ended, leaving 1,422 still active. These include nine in Kelantan, eight in Selangor, six in Sarawak, four in Penang and Johor respectively, three in Perak, two in Pahang, and one in KL Federal Territory and Sabah, respectively.
“In terms of breakdown, 22 clusters are workplace-related, while 14 are community-related. One cluster is related to other types of education, while the remaining cluster involves a private educational institution registered with the Education Ministry,” Dr Noor Hisham said.
A total of 1,062 Covid-19 cases are currently being treated in Intensive Care Units, with 518 requiring breathing assistance.
“233 deaths were recorded today, bringing the number of fatalities to 13,713 cases, or 0.91 per cent of all cumulative cases. They include 199 Malaysians and 34 foreign citizens.
“Today’s death figure includes 60 cases who were brought in dead, involving 44 Malaysians and 16 foreign citizens,” he said.
The state or territory with the most deaths is Selangor with 101 cases, followed by 31 cases in KL Federal Territory, 23 cases in Johor, 17 cases in Sabah, 16 cases in Perak, 15 cases in Penang, 11 cases in Negri Sembilan, nine cases in Kedah, four cases in Terengganu, and three cases in Kelantan and Pahang, respectively.
