by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by BERNAMA

THE Teratai cluster, which currently has the highest number of Covid-19 cases, has not spread to the surrounding community.

Health DG Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said as of now, the infections were only found among the workers in Top Glove Corp Bhd’s factories and their close contacts.

“These include foreign workers in the hostels and 165 Malaysians working in the factories, who live in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur (KL).

“So far, we have not detected any cases in the immediate surroundings of the Teratai cluster,” he said in his Covid-19 press conference yesterday.

The cluster, which is linked to the world’s largest glove manufacturer, has recorded over 4,500 positive cases (at press time).

Yesterday, 970 new Covid-19 cases were recorded, involving 965 local transmissions and five import cases.

Negri Sembilan topped the list with 318 cases, followed by Sabah (293) and Selangor (115).

Other states included Perak (80), KL (44), Johor (30), Penang (14), Kedah (24), Kelantan (eight) and Labuan (37).

Pahang and Sarawak both reported two cases each, while Putrajaya, Melaka and Terengganu reported one case each.

These new cases brought the country’s overall total to 59,817 where 12,971 active cases are being treated at hospitals nationwide.

Among the active cases, 110 were placed in the intensive care units, with 47 requiring respiratory aid. A total of 2,348 patients were discharged yesterday, bringing the total recoveries to 46,501, which equals 77.5%.

Four deaths were reported yesterday, involving two from Sabah and one each from Penang and Labuan.

They were aged between 54 and 77, with two having medical histories. The country’s Covid-19 death toll is now at 345.

Meanwhile, five new clusters were identified namely, the Gangsa cluster in Selangor; Batu Tujuh and Tanjung Bunga clusters in Johor; Kerengge cluster in Terengganu; and D’Bajaru cluster in Sabah.

The Gangsa cluster was detected in Kuala Langat from a workplace screening on Monday. It has infected 30 individuals to date.

The Batu Tujuh cluster, having infected 13 individuals so far, was detected in Batu Pahat, Johor, from a screening among severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) patients on Sunday.

Another cluster in Johor, the Tanjung Bunga cluster, was detected from a screening among SARI patients and it has now infected 11 individuals.

The Kerengge cluster which was detected in Marang, Terengganu, from a screening of symptomatic individuals on Nov 17 has infected six individuals, while the D’Bajaru cluster was detected in Lahad Datu, Sabah, as a result of community screening in two high-risk villages on Nov 11 which has now infected 90 individuals.