KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 17): Malaysia today reported 21 new Covid-19 cases — of which five were imported and 16 were local transmissions — bringing the total positive cases detected so far to 10,052, according to the Ministry of Health.
Active cases stood at 674 versus 668 reported yesterday, with 15 more Covid-19 patients discharged. This raised total recoveries to 9,250, representing a recovery rate of 92%.
The death toll from the coronavirus in the country, meanwhile, stayed at 128, as no new fatalities were recorded, health director-general (D-G) Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in his daily update on the pandemic.
“As of now, there are 13 Covid-19 patients receiving treatment in the intensive care unit, with two requiring ventilator support,” he said.
As for the imported cases, all five of them involved Malaysians who returned to the country from abroad with two cases from New Zealand and one each from India, Pakistan and China.
The two cases from New Zealand were detected in Selangor while the rest were found in Sabah, according to Noor Hisham.
As for the 16 local transmissions, he said 10 of the infected individuals were locals while the other three were foreigners. All of these cases were detected in Sabah.
Of the total, he said 15 cases were Malaysians while the other one was a foreigner. Of the total, five cases were found in Sabah, seven in Kedah, two in Penang and one each in Selangor and Sarawak.
“The five cases in Sabah include one infected person from a new cluster known as Selamat,” the Health D-G added.
According to the Health Ministry, the Selamat cluster is located in Semporna, Sabah, with its index case being a local female aged 32.
“She was tested positive for Covid-19 on Sept 14 after she was screened at and admitted to Tawau Hospital for a premature birth. Close contact screening and active case detection also found another infected person, who was the medical officer attending to the index case patient.
“As of today, some 118 individuals within this cluster have been screened. Of the total, two have been confirmed positive while the remaining 116 are still awaiting results,” the ministry added.