KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 15): Malaysia registered another triple-digit rise in new Covid-19 cases today, with 589 infections — which raised its cumulative positive cases to 18,129 — and three new deaths in the worst-hit state of Sabah, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Sabah contributed 51.6% or 304 of the new daily cases today, followed by Selangor (150), Perak (52), Kedah (31), Penang (16), Negeri Sembilan (11), Kuala Lumpur (9), Labuan (6), Sarawak (2), Melaka (2), Kelantan (2) and Putrajaya (1).

Although today's daily additions are fewer than the 660 reported yesterday, they still raised the country's active Covid-19 cases — which carry transmission risks — to a fresh record high of 5,945 from 5,768 previously, as new recoveries came in less than new infections, at 409.

Still, the latest recovery figure is the highest recorded in a day since the pandemic hit Malaysia in January, and raised the recovery tally to 12,014, or 66.3% of overall cases.

Meanwhile, the virus' death toll in Malaysia has now climbed to 170, with the three fatalities involving one man and two women. One of the women, aged 100, was the oldest in the country to succumb to the illness.

“Overall, 91 cases today came from the Tembok cluster, Remand Prison cluster and the Seberang Perai Prison cluster. These cases are isolated in the prisons,” said MoH director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah at a media briefing today.

Out of the 589 new cases today, only three were patients who were infected abroad. "The three imported cases involve two foreigners who have [recently] returned from Indonesia, and one from Ukraine,” he said.

Noor Hisham also announced the discovery of four new infection clusters today, namely Olive, Bah Pasir, Bah Pengkalan and SaguKing, which have a total of 33 confirmed infections among them.

Olive was discovered in Sabah and has 17 cases, while the Bah Pasir cluster has five infections spread around Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan and Putrajaya. The Bah Pengkalan cluster, found in Perak, has six cases, while the Saguking cluster is in Labuan and has five cases.