KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Malaysia's new Covid-19 infections rose to 5,566, following four days of decline, bringing total  cases to 627,652.

The number of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), meanwhile, hit a record for the 15th straight day at 903, with more than half of them, or 458 individuals, placed on ventilators.

Covid-19 fatalities, however, remained below 100 for the third consecutive day, declining to 76 from 82 yesterday, said
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Selangor accounted for 18 of the latest deaths, followed by Johor (13), Negeri Sembilan (nine), Kuala Lumpur (eight) and Labuan (seven).

Kelantan, Kedah, and Melaka registered four deaths each, while Terengganu reported three deaths. Perak and Pahang saw two deaths each, while Sabah and Sarawak registered one death each.

Dr Noor Hisham said the number of active cases in the country dropped to 82,797 as new recoveries came in higher than new infections at 6,962. Total recoveries stood at 541,319 or 86.3% of overall infections.

Of the new infections, Selangor remained the worst-hit state with 1,524 cases, up from 1,374 reported yesterday. This was followed by Sarawak (707), Negeri Sembilan (505), Kuala Lumpur (466) and Johor (456).

The Health Ministry said another 24 Covid-19 clusters were reported in the 24 hours as of noon today, raising the number of active clusters nationwide to 730.

Fifteen of the new clusters were related to workplaces. Five others were linked to community clusters, three were related to high-risk groups, and one was linked to religious activities.

The new clusters were detected in Selangor, Sabah, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Penang, Kelantan, Pahang, Sarawak, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan.

To date, 2,385 clusters have been reported, of which 1,655 have been declared ended.