11 deaths recorded, Covid-19 back to 4 digits

This is also the 2nd-highest number of Covid-19-related deaths reported in a single day

by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by TMR FILE

MALAYSIA recorded 11 new deaths due to Covid-19 yesterday, with 10 cases involving older persons with pre-existing medical conditions.

Of the 11 deaths, five deaths were reported in Selangor, two in Johor and Sabah, while Kelantan and Negri Sembilan recorded one death each.

The deceased were all aged between 50 and 81.

This was also the second-highest number of Covid-19-related deaths reported in a single day, where the previous highest daily Covid-19 death count was 12, which was reported on Nov 3.

The daily cases also increased to 1,075 from a three-digit cases reported on Wednesday, with Selangor reporting the highest number of infections again with 459 cases including one import case, followed by Sabah (310) and Johor (78).

“Other states with new cases yesterday include Negri Sembilan (52), Kuala Lumpur (49), Penang (43), Kedah (32), Perak (26), Kelantan (9), Labuan (9), Pahang (4) and Melaka (2).

“Terengganu and Sarawak recorded one case each, while Putrajaya and Perlis did not record any new cases yesterday,” Health DG Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement.

The increase in new cases brought the country’s cumulative cases to 69,095.

There are now 10,802 active Covid-19 cases that are being treated at health facilities nationwide.

Among the active cases yesterday, 116 were placed in the intensive care unit, with 46 of them requiring respiratory aid.

A total of 948 patients were discharged yesterday, increasing the total recovered cases in the country to 57,917.

Additionally, Dr Noor Hisham also announced four new Covid-19 clusters yesterday, including three in Sabah and one in Selangor.

He said the first cluster, the Monsoon cluster, was detected in Petaling, Selangor, as a result of the screening of symptomatic individuals who have infected 19 individuals so far.

Another workplace cluster known as the Jalan Kilang cluster was detected in Lahad Datu, Sabah, which has already infected 24 individuals.

The third cluster, Perdana Enam cluster, was also detected in Lahad Datu as a result of the screening of symptomatic individuals who have infected 25 individuals.

The last cluster known as the Jalan Kubota cluster was detected in Tawau, Sabah, as a result of screening of infected individuals and it has 14 positive cases so far.

Separately, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said a total of 482 individuals were arrested for violating the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) on Dec 2.

He added that of the total, 137 individuals were arrested for taking part in pub and nightclub activities.

“Other offences include failure to comply with physical-distancing rules (128), failure to provide equipment for registration (101), not wearing face masks (69), entering Conditional MCO districts and crossing states without permission (26) and others (21),” he said in a statement yesterday.

Meanwhile, Under Ops Benteng, Ismail Sabri said the authorities detained 68 illegal immigrants and 10 boat skippers, as well as seized three land vehicles and one boat.

From July 24 until Dec 2, a total of 80,748 individuals arrived at all international entrances and have been placed in 78 hotels and 17 other premises.

From the total figure, 11,862 individuals are undergoing mandatory quarantine, while 502 individuals were sent to hospitals for treatment.

Meanwhile, a total of 68,384 individuals were allowed to return home.