Covid-19 (Dec 16): Malaysia now has more cases than mainland China

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 1,295 new Covid-19 cases and seven deaths.

The cumulative case count in Malaysia has reached 87,913 which is more than the 86,770 cumulative cases reported in mainland China - according to China's National Health Commission figures - where the first Covid-19 cases were reported.

The Klang Valley reported the most new cases (55 percent) followed by Sabah (20.7 percent), and Johor (8.1 percent). 

While the majority of new cases in the Klang Valley were traceable to clusters or close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 carriers, 20 percent of new cases in this region were detected through "other screenings". 

"Other screenings" is an umbrella category for voluntary screening, screening of individuals with symptoms, screening of health workers, targeted community screening, screening at domestic airports, pre-wedding screening, screening of those returning from Sabah, pre-surgery screening, pre-departure screening, signing-off from a vessel screening, and workplace screenings, among others.

Leading indicators:

• Active cases: 14,751 ↑ (236 more than the previous day)
• Patients in ICU: 113 ↓ (5 more than the previous day)
• Intubated patients: 53 ↓ (3 less than the previous day)
• Deaths: 7

[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.]

Of the seven Covid-19 fatalities reported today, five were from Sabah. The cumulative Covid-19 death toll for Sabah stood at 247 or 57.5 percent of the national total (429).

Details of the victims are as follows:

Patient 61,181 - Foreign male, 58, passed away at the Tawau Hospital.

Patient 61,363 - Malaysian male, 66, passed away at the Sungai Buloh Hospital.

Patient 68,245 - Malaysian female, 52, passed away at the Lahad Datu Hospital.

Patient 71,577 - Foreign male, 76, passed away at the Lahad Datu Hospital.

Patient 74,292 - Malaysian female, 52, passed away at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital, Kelantan. She was a senior nurse at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital in Kelantan.

Patient 82,577 - Malaysian male, 77, body brought to Tawau Hospital.

Patient 85,106 - Foreign male, 57, body brought to Tawau Hospital. 

Of the 1,295 new cases reported today, 10 were imported. A breakdown of the new cases follows:

Selangor (481)
Existing clusters: 277
Close contact: 79
Imported: 4
Other screenings: 121

Sabah (268)
Existing clusters: 52
New cluster (Bukit Punai): 5
Close contact: 105
Other screenings: 106

Kuala Lumpur (232)
Existing clusters: 128
New clusters (Tapak Bina Permai, Tapak Bina Matahari, Tapak Bina Laut): 54
Close contact: 23
Imported: 4
Other screenings: 23

Johor (105)
Existing clusters: 61
New cluster (Cahaya Mahsuri): 6
Close contact: 22
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 15

Penang (69)
Existing clusters: 51
Close contact: 13
Other screenings: 5

Negeri Sembilan (60)
Existing clusters: 53
Close contact: 2
Other screenings: 5

Perak (35)
Existing clusters: 25
New cluster (Seri Tasik): 1
Close contact: 4
Other screenings: 5

Malacca (14)
Existing clusters: 13
Close contact: 1

Pahang (13)
Existing clusters: 4
New cluster (Inten): 4
Close contact: 2
Other screenings: 3

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

Putrajaya (4)
Existing clusters: 2
Close contact: 1
Other screenings: 1

Labuan (3)
Existing clusters: 1
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 1

Terengganu (1)
Existing clusters: 1

Kelantan (1)
Other screenings: 1

The Health Ministry today reported that there are 196 active Covid-19 clusters in the country, of which 51 had new cases today.

The highest number of new cases were from the Teratai cluster (143) which began at a Top Glove factory in Klang, Selangor.

The second-highest number of new cases were from the Usaha cluster (79) and Tapak Bina Jalan Stadium cluster (63).

The Usaha cluster was first classified on Nov 1 and originated from the Klang district in Selangor. The Tapak Bina Jalan Stadium cluster is believed to be linked to a construction site in the Kuala Lumpur central business district.

The Health Ministry also reported eight new clusters today.

The Puncak Galaksi cluster is a workplace cluster involving the Kuala Selangor and Klang districts in Selangor.

The index case was detected through Covid-19 screening performed on warehouse workers. So far, this cluster has 56 cases.

The Bukit Punai cluster has seven cases so far and involves the Kota Kinabalu district in Sabah. The index case was detected when screened prior to being warded.

The Tapak Bina Matahari cluster involves a construction site in the Titiwangsa district of Kuala Lumpur. This cluster has 15 cases so far.

The Tapak Bina Laut cluster involves the Lembah Pantai, Cheras, and Kepong districts in Kuala Lumpur and was discovered upon the screening of construction site workers. Eight cases have been attributed to this cluster.

The Cahaya Mahsuri cluster has 32 cases involving the Johor Bahru, Kota Tinggi, and Pontian districts in Johor. The index case was diagnosed on Dec 8 after reporting symptoms.

The Seri Tasik cluster has seven cases involving the Perak Tengah and Kinta districts in Perak. The index case was diagnosed on Dec 2 through pre-surgery screening.

The Inten cluster has nine cases and involves the Kuantan district in Pahang. The index case was diagnosed on Dec 10 after reporting symptoms.