This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 26, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Even with the movement control order or partial lockdown in place since last week, the number of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia has more than doubled, as the tally jumped from 790 cases recorded as of March 18, to 1,796 cases as of noon yesterday.

Altogether, 1,006 more people have been tested positive for the virus in the past seven days, with Monday recording 212 cases, its highest daily jump in new infections. Just two months ago, Malaysia announced its first Covid-19 cases on Jan 25, which involved three China tourists who had entered the country two days earlier via Johor from Singapore.

With more infections, the country’s virus death toll has also climbed. From two deaths recorded on the first evening of the MCO, there are now 20 deaths with yesterday alone recording five new deaths, according to data from the health ministry (MoH). All five were victims aged above 55.

One of them was a 75-year-old man who passed away at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital at 7.40pm on Tuesday night. Three other deaths occurred in Johor, two were men aged 66 and 56 who passed away at 4.10am and 2am yesterday morning, and one was a woman aged 68 who died just about an hour past midnight on Tuesday. Another man aged 76, who had attended the tabligh, died at 4.35pm yesterday in Kuala Krai, Kelantan.

Yesterday alone saw 172 new infections, of which 71 were traced to the tabligh event, which was held at Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling. As for the source of infection for the remainder 101 — suspected to be linked to other clusters — that is still being investigated, according to the ministry’s director-general (D-G) Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

As the epidemic continues to spread across the country, the government ordered yesterday that the 14-day lockdown that was to end on March 31 be extended by another two weeks to April 14.

Selangor remains the state with the highest recorded number of cases, at 435, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 270, Johor with 196, and Sabah with 170.

To date, 45 patients have been placed in intensive care, with 34 needing respiratory aid. Meanwhile, 16 more patients recovered and were discharged yesterday. This brings the number of recovered cases to 199, or 11% of the total.

73 MoH healthcare workers tested positive; parts of Teluk Intan Hospital closed to contain infection

Also as of noon yesterday, 73 healthcare workers with the ministry have been tested positive, according to Dr Noor Hisham. This includes 37 from the Teluk Intan Hospital, which has since closed a few wards for cleaning and disinfecting.

None of the healthcare workers’ source of infection, however, has been linked to the management or treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Instead, 47 or 64.4% of these infections have been traced to a wedding reception, which were also attended by some of those who attended the tabligh. The others were infected after having gone overseas or having had close contact with a family member who had been tested positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, 1,895 ministry healthcare workers who treated Covid-19 patients at the ministry’s health facilities have undergone testing for Covid-19. Of these, 1,187 have been cleared of the illness as their test results came back negative.

The remaining 708 are still awaiting the results of their tests. None of those who have been treating patients have been tested positive, the D-G stressed.