Covid-19 (Feb 18): 2,712 new infections, spike in Kedah, Perak

COVID-19 | Malaysia reported 2,712 new cases of Covid-19 as of noon today, of which four were imported cases, while the rest were locally transmitted.

Most cases are still concentrated in the Klang Valley (Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya), which accounts for 1,232 (45.4 percent) of the new cases. In addition, Johor recorded 426 cases, which is higher than all other states expect Selangor.

Perak and Kedah bucked its trend of double-digit figures of late, with Perak reporting 198 cases today, and Kedah reporting 182 cases.

The spike in Perak is mainly driven by the discovery of a new cluster in Teluk Intan, while cases in Kedah are predominantly from existing clusters.

For comparison, Perak had been reporting two-digit figures in the last four days, averaging 84 cases per day. Likewise, Kedah was averaging 50 cases a day over the same period.

Perlis, which hasn't reported a single case in the last four days, detected six cases today. This is the highest for the state since Jan 28, when nine cases were reported.

Perlis will be the only state that will be placed under the recovery movement control order starting tomorrow and will enjoy more lenient restrictions than the rest of the country.

Despite the spike in several states, the overall number of active Covid-19 cases continued its fall and is now at its lowest level since Jan 17, when 37,782 active cases were recorded.

Active cases: 38,763

Patients in ICU: 227

Intubated: 103

Deaths

The number of Covid-19 deaths reached a record-high of 25 cases in a day, edging out the previous record on Feb 8 by one death.

This brings the total death toll to 1,030.

It should be noted that fatal Covid-19 cases usually take two to eight weeks to reach its conclusion, so trends in deaths generally follow the infection trends of a few weeks prior.

Most of the deaths occurred in Selangor (15), followed by Sabah (3), Sarawak (3), Kuala Lumpur (2), Johor (1), and Putrajaya (1).

21 deceased were Malaysians while the other four were non-citizens. Five of them were below 60 years old.

The youngest death involved a three-year-old female in Sabah with brain cancer, while the oldest was a 100-year-old female in Selangor with a history of high blood pressure, heart disease, anaemia, stroke, and chronic kidney disease.

More alarmingly, six of the deceased were already dead when brought to a hospital.

Cases by state

Selangor (1,013)
Existing clusters: 412
New clusters (Jalan Bukit Kemuning, Jalan Jitu, Jalan Hulu Tinggi, Mayang, and Jalan Industri Kidamai): 85
Close contacts: 298
Other screenings: 218

Johor (426)
Existing clusters: 40
New clusters (Perindustrian Fasa Dua, Jalan Sri Putri, Jalan Perindustrian Estate, Jalan DPB Tiga, and Jalan Tebrau Dua): 134
Close contacts: 110
Imported: 2
Other screenings: 140

Kuala Lumpur (212)
Existing clusters: 43
New clusters (Mediacity): 6
Close contacts: 73
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 89

Sarawak (200)
Existing clusters: 22
Close contacts: 42
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 135

Perak (198)
Existing clusters: 22
New clusters (Jalan Changkat Jong): 158
Close contacts: 10
Other screenings: 8

Kedah (182)
Existing clusters: 165
Close contacts: 10
Other screenings: 7

Sabah (114)
Existing clusters: 20
New clusters (Lot Satu and Lot Tujuh): 14
Close contacts: 60
Other screenings: 20

Negeri Sembilan (81)
Existing clusters: 14
Close contacts: 34
Other screenings: 33

Penang (116)
Existing clusters: 61
New clusters (Lintang Kampung Jawa): 2
Close contacts: 21
Other screenings: 32

Pahang (52)
Existing clusters: 3
New clusters (Jalan Telok Ira): 40
Close contacts: 6
Other screenings: 3

Kelantan (43)
Existing clusters: 1
Close contacts: 25
Other screenings: 17

Malacca (38)
Existing clusters: 22
Close contacts: 6
Other screenings: 10

Terengganu (19)
Existing clusters: 5
New clusters (Kampung Jawek): 1
Close contacts: 11
Other screenings: 2

Putrajaya (7)
Existing clusters: 2
Close contacts: 3
Other screenings: 2

Perlis (6)
Other screenings: 6

Labuan (5)
Existing clusters: 3
Close contacts: 1
Other screenings: 1

Clusters

The Health Ministry is monitoring 506 active clusters, of which 94 reported new cases.

Monitoring ended for 10 clusters after no new cases were found for 28 consecutive days, but 17 new clusters have been discovered.

Most of the new clusters are classified as workplace clusters, but there is also a community cluster, a high-risk group cluster, and a religious cluster.

The Kebun Baru cluster in Kuala Langat and Klang, Selangor, saw the largest increase in new cases (188 cases) for a total of 861 cases.

This is followed by the newly detected Jalan Changkat Jong cluster in Perak (158 cases) and Selambau cluster in Penang and Kedah (155 cases).

Details of the new clusters are as follows:

Jalan Bukit Kemuning cluster
District(s): Klang, Selangor
Locality/Source: Services company at Jalan Bukit Kemuning, Shah Alam
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 18, targeted screening
Total infected: 55 out of 147 screened

Jalan Jitu cluster
District(s): Klang, Selangor
Locality/Source: Two factories that share workers' accommodations at Jalan Jitu, off Jalan Bukit Kemuning, Shah Alam
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 17, targeted screening
Total infected: 39 out of 516 screened

Jalan Hulu Tinggi cluster
District(s): Petaling, Klang, Kuala Selangor, and Gombak , Selangor
Locality/Source: Factory at Jalan Hulu Tinggi, Kawasan Perindustrian Hicom, Shah Alam
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Jan 26, targeted screening
Total infected: 61 out of 800 screened

Mayang cluster
District(s): Petaling, Selangor
Locality/Source: Factory at Taman Mayang, Petaling Jaya
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 7, targeted screening
Total infected: 24 out of 52 screened

Jalan Industri Kidamai cluster
District(s): Hulu Langat, Selangor
Locality/Source: Factory at Jalan Industri Kidamai, Kajang
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 14, targeted screening
Total infected: 22 out of 510 screened

Perindustrian Fasa Dua cluster
District(s): Kulai and Kota Tinggi, Johor
Locality/Source: Factory at Kawasan Perindustrian Fasa 2, Senai
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 8, targeted screening
Total infected: 27 out of 146 screened

Jalan Perindustrian Estate cluster
District(s): Kulai, Kota Tinggi, and Johor Bahru, Johor
Locality/Source: Factory at Senai Industrial Estate, Kulai
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 8, targeted screening
Total infected: 53 out of 239 screened

Jalan DPB Tiga cluster
District(s): Johor Bahru, Johor
Locality/Source: Services company at Jalan DPB 3, Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas, Johor Bahru
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 18, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 41 out of 97 screened

Jalan Tebrau Dua cluster
District(s): Johor Bahru, Johor
Locality/Source: Government administrative centre at Jalan Tebrau, Bukit Senyum, Johor Bahru
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 13, index case with severe acute respiratory infection
Total infected: 12 out of 96 screened

Lot Satu cluster
District(s): Penampang, Sabah
Locality/Source: Restaraunt at Lot 1, Pekan Donggongon, Penampang
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 15, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 9 out of 11 screened

Lot Tujuh cluster
District(s): Penampang, Sabah
Locality/Source: Restaraunt at Lot 7, Majukota Commercial Centre, Penampang
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 17, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 8 out of 30 screened

Lintang Kampung Jawa cluster
District(s): All five districts in Penang
Locality/Source: Factory at Lintang Kampung Jawa, Kawasan Perindustrian Bayan Lepas, Barat Daya
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 1, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 86 out of 208 screened

Jalan Changkat Jong cluster
District(s): Hilir Perak and Perak Tengah, Perak
Locality/Source: Factory at Jalan Changkat Jong, Teluk Intan, Hilir Perak
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 3, targeted screening
Total infected: 166 out of 471 screened

Mediacity cluster
District(s): Cheras, Titiwangsa, and Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur
Locality/Source: Services company at Mediacity, Lembah Pantai
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: Feb 1, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 15 out of 258 screened

Kampung Jawek cluster
District(s): Besut, Terengganu
Locality/Source: Residence at Kampung Jawek, Jerteh, Besut
Cluster category: Community
First case: Feb 14, contact tracing
Total infected: 9 out of 146 screened

Jalan Sri Putri cluster
District(s): Kulai, Johor
Locality/Source: Care facility at Jalan Sri Putri, Taman Putri, Kulai
Cluster category: High-risk group
First case: Feb 15, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 22 out of 30 screened

Jalan Telok Ira cluster
District(s): Temerloh, Pahang
Locality/Source: Educational facility at Jalan Telok Ira, Temerloh
Cluster category: Religious
First case: Feb 16, contact tracing
Total infected: 47 out of 263 screened