COVID-19 WEEKLY ROUND-UP
BY MELATI MOHD ARIFF
KUALA LUMPUR: Daily new Covid-19 cases reported returned to three figures over the last two days but Malaysia’s total positive cases have now gone past the 60,000 mark.
Beginning with three positive cases that were reported on Jan 25, Malaysia now has a cumulative total of 60,752 Covid-19 cases while its active cases stand at 11,348.
With this, Malaysia has overtaken neighbouring Singapore to occupy the 83rd spot (84th spot last Friday) in the list of countries hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Singapore with 58,190 cases is at the 85th spot.
The nation, however, has reason to rejoice in the substantial number of recoveries recorded over the week. On Thursday, for instance, a record-breaking 2,555 patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 49,056 (80.7 percent of total cases).
For the week under review, the breakdown of discharged cases is as follows: Wednesday 2,348, Tuesday 1,673, Monday 883, Sunday (Nov 22) 1,104 and Saturday (Nov 21) 1,405.
Sabah accounted for the highest number of recoveries on Thursday at 2,126 cases, followed by Selangor (207) and Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya (64).
On Wednesday, Sabah accounted for 1,934 recoveries out of the 2,348 cases recorded that day.
Meanwhile, new cases reported this week had hit a record high of 2,188 on Tuesday, with the reason for the spike being the Teratai cluster involving workers of Top Glove Corporation Bhd in Selangor. This cluster alone recorded 1,511 cases that day.
The breakdown for this week’s new cases is as follows: yesterday 935, Wednesday 970, Tuesday 2,188, Monday 1,884, Sunday 1,096, Saturday 1,041.
On Thursday, Sabah reported the highest number of new cases at 326 (34.9 percent), followed by Selangor 161 cases (17.2 percent) and Negeri Sembilan 158 cases (16.9 percent).
Fatalities and other cases
Three more deaths were announced on Thursday, which brought Malaysia’s Covid-19 death toll to 348 (0.57 percent of total cases).
The breakdown for this week’s fatalities is as follows: Thursday three, Wednesday four, Tuesday four, Monday two, Sunday three, Saturday three.
Out of the 19 deaths reported over the week, 16 occurred in Sabah, two in Penang and one in Labuan.
Currently, 110 Covid-19 patients are in the intensive care unit, with 45 requiring respiratory aid.
Teratai cluster under control
The main reason for Malaysia’s daily four-figure new Covid-19 cases is the Teratai cluster which is linked to workers of the Top Glove factory.
The cluster was first announced by the Ministry of Health on Nov 7 and it involved the districts of Klang, Petaling and Hulu Langat in Selangor. A total of 74 positive cases was detected then.
The cluster went on to report a spike in cases and the authorities had to enforce an enhanced movement control order (Emco) on Nov 17 at the hostels in Meru, Klang, where some of the factory workers stay.
As of Nov 25, the Teratai cluster had recorded 4,063 Covid-19 cases.
For the record, the cluster accounted for 298 of the 402 new cases reported in Selangor on Nov 21; Nov 22, 502 of the 603 new cases; Nov 23, 1,067 of the 1,203 new cases; and Nov 24, 1,511 of 1,623 new cases
On Wednesday, Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that a special task force would be set up to oversee the screening and quarantine procedures of all Top Glove factory workers, as well as the temporary closure of all 28 Top Glove factories.
The task force will comprise National Security Council (Selangor), Selangor Health Department, Klang District Office, Klang Municipal Council and Klang district police headquarters personnel.
Top Glove has a total of 11,215 workers and as of Nov 24, a total of 5,795 screenings were carried out. As of Nov 24, 20 Top Glove factories were closed temporarily.
The company has also been directed to conduct screenings on 2,263 workers who live outside the EMCO area to prevent the virus from spreading to the community.
Ismail Sabri also announced that all foreign workers in Malaysia must undergo the Covid-19 swab test. For a start, 888,342 workers in Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Sabah will undergo screening.
Latest cases, clusters status
Out of the 345 clusters in Malaysia, 172 have ended. As of Thursday, there were 173 active clusters, including the six new ones reported on the same day.
Forty-four clusters reported new cases on Thursday, including Bakti cluster in Negeri Sembilan which recorded 95 cases.
In Sabah, 61 of the 326 new cases reported yesterday were from clusters, including 14 from the new Bot Biru and Blok 31 clusters.
In Negeri Sembilan, 147 of the 158 new cases on Thursday were from existing clusters, including 95 from Bakti cluster that involved a prison in Seremban district.
Perak reported 79 new cases on Thursday; Johor 60 including 23 from the new Gemilang cluster.
Kuala Lumpur recorded 59 cases on Thursday and also announced a new cluster Tapak Bina Sungai Udang; Kelantan 28 including nine from the new Chengal cluster; Kedah 24; Penang 17 including seven from the new Damar Laut cluster; Labuan 13; Putrajaya five; Sarawak four; and Terengganu one.
Meanwhile, out of the six new clusters announced by MoH on Thursday, two were in Sabah and one each in Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan and Penang/Kedah.
The new Bot Biru cluster in Sabah involved Tawau district and as of Thursday, had 17 positive cases. Sabah’s second new cluster, Blok 31, is also in Tawau and has 13 cases so far.
Johor’s new Gemilang cluster involved a logistics firm in Johor Bahru district and has 26 cases on yesterday.
Kuala Lumpur’s Tapak Bina Sungai Udang cluster involved a construction site in Kepong and has 11 cases as of Thursday.
Kelantan’s new Chengal cluster involves Kota Bharu and Machang districts and has recorded 15 cases so far.
The new Damar Laut cluster involves the northeast and southwest parts of Penang and the district of Padang Terap in Kedah. As of yesterday, it reported three cases. – Bernama
