Covid-19 (Dec 17): 1,220 new cases, spike in Malacca

 

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 1,220 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths. 

The Klang Valley accounted for 54.5 percent of new cases, followed by Sabah (15.1 percent) and Malacca (8 percent).

All 98 new cases in Malacca are from existing Penjara Jalan Harapan cluster, which is linked to the Sungai Buloh prison. 

New cases in Sabah continue to go on a downward trend. Sabah has the third-highest number of active cases in the country, behind Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. 

Leading indicators:

• Active cases: 14,671 ↓ (80 less than the previous day)
• Patients in ICU: 106 ↓ (7 less than the previous day)
• Intubated patients: 53 (unchanged)
• Deaths: 3

[For 14-day cumulative new cases count at mukim (locality) level, click here. For details of new cases by clusters, click here. There may be delays to updates by the respective state health departments.]

However, the highest number of Covid-19 deaths is still in Sabah. Of the three deaths reported today, two were from Sabah. 

The cumulative Covid-19 death toll for Sabah stood at 247 or 57.6 percent of the national total (432).

Details of the three victims - all with comorbidity - are as follows: 

Patient 64,470 - Malaysian male, 36, Hospital Enche' Besar Hajjah Khalsom, Kluang.

Patient 68,320 - Malaysian male, 55, Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Kota Kinabalu.

Patient 86,886 - Foreign male, 81, body brought to the Duchess of Kent Hospital, Sandakan. 

A breakdown of the new Covid-19 cases are as follows:

Selangor (368)
Existing clusters: 94
Close contact: 153
Other screenings: 121

Kuala Lumpur (297)
Existing clusters: 173
New clusters (Jalan Rusa, Tapak Bina Pasifik): 62
Close contact: 18
Other screenings: 44

Sabah (184)
Existing clusters: 13
New cluster (Maringkan): 1
Close contact: 97
Other screenings: 73

Malacca (98)
Existing clusters: 98

Penang (80)
Existing clusters: 53
Close contact: 8
Other screenings: 19

Johor (67)
Existing clusters: 21
Close contact: 32
Other screenings: 14

Perak (41)
Existing clusters: 37
Close contact: 2
Other screenings: 2

Negeri Sembilan (33)
Existing clusters: 17
Close contact: 10
Other screenings: 6

Labuan (16)
Existing clusters: 5
Close contact: 5
Other screenings: 6

Kelantan (10)
Existing clusters: 3
Close contact: 7

Kedah (9)
Existing clusters: 2
Close contact: 5
Other screenings: 2

Sarawak (9)
Imported: 6
Other screenings: 3

Pahang (4)
Other screenings: 4

Terengganu (2)
Existing clusters: 2

Putrajaya (2)
Close contact: 2

The Health Ministry said today there were 193 active Covid-19 clusters in the country of which 41 reported new cases.

The most number of cases was from the Penjara Jalan Harapan cluster (98), involving the Sungai Buloh prison in Selangor.

The second-highest number of cases was from the Jalan Rusa (57) and Bintang (50) clusters.

The Bintang cluster involved a construction site in the Lembah Pantai district of Kuala Lumpur.

The Jalan Rusa cluster was only classified today although the index case was diagnosed in late November. So far, 1,267 individuals in the neighbourhood have been screened of which 129 have tested positive.

The Tapak Bina Pasifik cluster involved another construction site in the Lembah Pantai district of Kuala Lumpur. So far, 17 have tested positive.

The Maringkan cluster involved the Telupid and Ranau districts in Sabah. The index case was diagnosed on Dec 5 after reporting symptoms. So far, 11 cases are attributed to this cluster. - Mkini