KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): Malaysia reported a record high of 44 Covid-19 deaths today as new cases climbed to 4,140 — the fourth consecutive day new cases came in above the 4,000 mark — from 4,113 yesterday. Cumulative infections in the country now stood at 466,330, with total fatalities at 1,866.

The new fatalities — 43 Malaysians and one foreigner — were reported in Selangor (26), Kelantan (five), Sarawak (four), Kedah (three), Johor (three), Kuala Lumpur (two) and Negeri Sembilan (one).

The new infections, meanwhile, comprised 4,131 local transmissions and nine imported cases, according to Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement today.

Active cases climbed to 42,135 from 41,470 yesterday as new infections continued to outpace daily recoveries, which came in at 3,432 today. The additions raised total recoveries to 422,329, representing a recovery rate of 90.6%.

Selangor posted the biggest increase in daily cases in the past 24 hours, with 1,507 new infections reported. 

This was followed by Johor (433), Kuala Lumpur (398), Penang (338), Sarawak (324). Kedah (239), Negeri Sembilan (190), Perak (182), Terengganu (119), Pahang (116), Kelantan (109), Melaka (97), Sabah (60), Putrajaya (23), Labuan (three) and Perlis (two).

The Ministry of Health (MoH) identified 15 new infection clusters today, bringing the total found to 1,876. Of that, 466 clusters are still active, while 1,410 have ended.

Among the new clusters, eight involve workplaces, four are linked to religious activities, two are linked to education clusters, and one is a high-risk group cluster.

They were detected in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Kelantan.