KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 8): Malaysia’s new COVID-19 cases dropped to 375 today — from 489 reported yesterday — with five deaths, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).
About 72% of the new cases today came from Sabah, which reported 271 new cases — once again topping the list of States with the highest number of confirmed daily infections, followed by Selangor (at 36), Kedah (16), Kuala Lumpur (10), Labuan (10), Sarawak (6), Johor (5), Perak (5), Terengganu (5), Negeri Sembilan (2), Putrajaya (2), Melaka (1) and Penang (1).
Out of the new cases, 303 came from the community, while 68 came from clusters. Notably, 18 of today's new cases came from the Tembok, Benteng Lahad Datu (LD), and Reman Prison clusters.
In his briefing, MoH director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the three clusters now account for 4.8% of cumulative cases, which stand at 14,368.
Meanwhile, five more people — four men and one woman — succumbed to the coronavirus today, raising the death toll to 146, he added.
According to him, the three men and woman who died were aged 53 to 75 years old and had comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure and dyslipidemia (excessive levels of fat in the blood).
Meanwhile, the other man who passed away was 82 years old.
Of the 375 new cases today, only four were imported cases from Belgium (two cases) and India, while the rest were locally-acquired infections.
Meanwhile, 18 cases came from those who had travelled to Sabah, bringing the total cases involving returnees from the State since Sept 20 to 301.
The new daily cases, which again surpassed the daily recoveries — 18 today — raised the number of active cases, which carry transmission risks, to 3,703 from 3,351 yesterday.
Some 60 COVID-19 patients are currently being treated in intensive care units, with 20 of them needing respiratory aid.
Total cumulative recoveries now stand at 10,519 or 73.2% of the total confirmed infections.
Sabah tops list again with 271 cases as country enters third wave
Sabah today recorded 271 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed infections in the State so far to 3,291 — the highest among all States and Federal Territories.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur recorded 2,723 total infections, followed by Selangor (2,507), Kedah (1,616) and Negeri Sembilan (1,065).
Of the 271 new cases in Sabah, 252 cases were detected through various screenings for COVID-19 while six cases came from the Ramai-ramai cluster, five from the Laut cluster, three from the Benteng LD cluster, three from the Tujuh Serangkai cluster and two from the Tanamera cluster.
Only two States in the country — Kelantan and Perlis — did not record any new cases today.
Due to a spike in COVID-19 cases nationwide, Noor Hisham said: “We have entered into the third wave of infections, [so] it depends on us to control the spread of COVID-19 infections in [our] country.”
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