Covid-19 (Nov 26): 931 new cases versus 2,555 recoveries

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry reported 935 new Covid-19 cases with the bulk of them in Sabah, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

It also reported 2,555 recoveries, a record high. This helped reduce the total number of active cases and relieve the strain on Covid-19 hospitals.

The latest figures put the cumulative Covid-19 cases at 60,752 to date while the cumulative recoveries stand at 49,056.

Leading indicators:

Active cases: 11,348 ↓ (1,623 less than the previous day)

Patients in intensive care: 110  (unchanged)

Intubated patients: 45 ↓ (Two less than the previous day)

Deaths: 3 ↓  (One less than the previous day)

The four new fatalities put the death toll at 348. Details of the deaths are as follow:

Patient 33,905 (Death 346): 70-year-old Malaysian woman. Died at Hospital Duchess of Kent, Sabah. No reported pre-existing condition.

Patient 50,960 (Death 347): 59-year-old Malaysian man. Died at Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Sabah. Had a history of high blood pressure and asthma.

Patient 59,134 (Death 348): 77-year-old Malaysian woman. Confirmed dead at Hospital Tawau, Sabah. Had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure.

The breakdown of new cases by states is as follows:

Sabah (326)
Existing cluster: 47
New clusters: 14 (Bot Biru cluster and Blok 31 cluster).
Close contacts: 157
Other screenings: 108

Selangor (161)
Existing clusters: 52
Close contacts: 25
Imported: 2
Other screenings: 82

Negeri Sembilan (158)
Existing clusters: 147
Close contacts: 6
Other screenings: 5

Perak (79)
Existing clusters: 75
Other screenings: 4

Johor (60)
Existing clusters: 31
New clusters: 23 (Gemilang cluster)
Close contacts: 2
Other screenings: 4

Kuala Lumpur (59)
Existing clusters: 26
New clusters: 4 (Sungai Udang construction site cluster)
Close contacts: 3
Other screenings: 26

Kelantan (28)
Existing clusters: 10
New clusters: 9 (Chengal cluster)
Close contacts: 5
Other screenings: 4

Kedah (24)
Existing clusters: 23
Other screenings: 1

Penang (17)
Existing clusters: 2
New cluster: 7 (Damar Laut cluster)
Close contacts: 2
Other screenings: 6

Labuan (13)
Existing clusters: 6
Close contacts: 2
Other screenings: 5

Putrajaya (5)
Existing clusters: 4
Close contacts: 1

Sarawak (4)
Imported: 2
Other screenings: 2

Terengganu (1)
Other screenings: 1

There were no new reported cases in Pahang, Malacca and Perlis for today.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a statement, reported the emergence of six new clusters.

On the flip side, two clusters were declared over, namely the Tuguson cluster and Seri Gaya cluster.

This means 173 out of 345 clusters are still active. Of this, 44 of the active clusters recorded new cases today.

The new clusters are Bot Biru and Blok 31 in Sabah, Gemilang in Johor, Sungai Udang construction site in Kuala Lumpur, Chengal in Kelantan and Damar Laut in Penang.

The Bot Biru cluster involved the district of Tawau in Sabah. The index case is Patient 46,546 who was discovered on Nov 15. 

Contact tracing found a total of 17 positive Covid-19 cases in the cluster to date.

The Blok 31 cluster also involved the district of Tawau. It was traced to Patient 52,971 who tested positive on Nov 21 during a screening of symptomatic patients.

To date, a total of 13 people in the cluster have Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the Gemilang cluster in Johor Bahru contributed to a spike of Covid-19 cases in the state today.

The index case (58,837) was a severe acute respiratory infection (Sari) patient. The patient was discovered on Nov 24 and since then, 26 people have been found to be infected with Covid-19.

The Sungai Udang construction site cluster is located in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur.

The index case is patient 54,604 who was found to be infected with Covid-19 during a workplace screening on Nov 22.

To date, a total of 11 people in the cluster have the virus.

The Chengal cluster involved the districts of Kota Bharu and Machang in Kelantan.

The index case (54,773) was a Sari patient who tested positive for Covid-19 on Nov 21. 

To date, a total of 15 people in the cluster have Covid-19.

The Damar Laut cluster involved the districts of Timur Laut and Barat Daya in Penang.

A screening of symptomatic patients on Nov 21 found five people infected with Covid-19.

This prompted authorities to screen a total of 651 people and to date, 13 people in the cluster have the virus.