The casualties were all Malaysians above 40 years old with the oldest aged 100

by HARIZAH KAMEL / pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

THE Covid-19 death toll in the country has now reached 1,005 after 22 more deaths were reported yesterday.

Health DG Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that the casualties involved eight cases in Selangor, four cases in Sabah, three cases in Kuala Lumpur (KL), two cases each in Sarawak and Perak, and one in Negri Sembilan, Kedah and Johor.

They were all Malaysians and above 40 years old; the oldest was aged 100.

The number of new cases continues to show a downward trend with 2,998 cases recorded yesterday, totalling the cumulative cases to 272,163. Of the new cases, 2,991 were local transmissions while only seven were imported cases.

Out of the 41,396 active cases in the country to date, 231 patients are in intensive care units while 115 require respiratory aid.

Meanwhile, recoveries recorded higher numbers at 5,709, bringing the total to 229,762.

Selangor still reported the highest number of daily cases at 1,382, followed by Johor with 436 cases and Negri Sembilan with 233 cases. Perlis had no new infections for the fourth day in a row.

A total of 13 new clusters were also identified, involving 10 workplace-related clusters, two clusters involving high-risk groups, and one community cluster. Currently, the total number of clusters in Malaysia is 1,028, of which 499 clusters are still active. However, 13 clusters ended yesterday.

Separately, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (picture) said the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) has been implemented in Felda Triang 3, Bera, Pahang from today until March 3, involving 1,356 residents.

The police arrested 594 individuals on Tuesday for violating the standard operating procedures of MCO 2.0. From the total, 569 were compounded while another 25 individuals were remanded.

The offences committed included failure to comply with physical distancing (144), crossing state and district lines under MCO 2.0 without permission (127), not wearing face masks (77) and failure to provide equipment to record customer details (74).

On Ops Benteng, five illegal immigrants were detained, while three vehicles were seized. During the operation, authorities also detected three boats in the country’s waters and a land vehicle.

A total of 117 sanitation operations covering 48 red zones, four orange zones, seven yellow zones and three green zones were conducted nationwide.

Between July 24, 2020 and Feb 16, 2021, a total of 123,852 individuals returned to the country.

Of that number, 5,289 individuals were undergoing mandatory quarantine, while 599 individuals had been sent to hospitals for treatment. A total of 117,964 individuals were allowed to return home.

Meanwhile, 37 foreign workers out of 8,983 were found to be positive for Covid-19 after undergoing screening tests.

Cumulatively, 387,040 foreign workers have undergone the screening test involving 17,731 employers.