KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced that there are 212 new confirmed cases as of noon today — the highest single-day increase — bringing the tally to 1,518 cases in Malaysia.

The total number of infections in the country has nearly tripled in a week from 553 cases last Monday, making Malaysia the 19th country in terms of the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, based on the official data from each country. 

Malaysia is the Asean country with the most confirmed infection cases currently. 

MoH announced four more people have died from Covid-19, bringing the total death toll to 14. Meanwhile, 20 patients have been discharged after recovering, bringing the total number of cured cases to 159.

The four deaths involved a 70-year-old-man who had travelled overseas, another 70-year-old man who had attended the tabligh gathering at Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling, a 49-year-old man whose mother and sister also died of the infection, and a 51-year-old woman from Miri who had close contact with a tabligh participant.

In a statement, health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of the 212 new cases, 123 cases are linked to the Masjid Jamek Seri Petaling mosque gathering cluster based on the outcome of the initial investigations.

To date, 57 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 are being treated in intensive care units (ICU), with 27 needing ventilation machines, he said.

Selangor remains the highest with 354 cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur (242), Sabah (169) and Johor (158).

Noor Hisham revealed that the MoH has acquired 33 million units of personal protective equipment, plus a further three million units donated by various parties, which will be distributed to various health facilities by this week.

Bernama reported that the National Security Council will be meeting before the end of the movement control order on March 31 to decide if the order should be extended beyond the initial 14 days.

Meanwhile, a more comprehensive economic stimulus package will be announced on March 30.

For individuals planning to visit a doctor, they are limited to only one accompanying partner except for child patients, those who require assistance or emergency cases.

For further questions, the public can reach out to MoH Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) via (03) 8881 0200, (03) 8881 0600, (03) 8881 0700 from 8am to 5pm, or email [email protected]. 

The public can also get further information from MoH CPRC Telegram channel at https://t.me/cprckkm.

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