Covid-19 (Nov 18): 660 new cases, a quarter related to prisons

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry reported 660 new Covid-19 cases and four deaths as of noon today. 

The number of new cases in the Klang Valley had tapered down to a third of the number reported yesterday. 

Sabah continued to report the highest number of new cases (58.6 percent) followed by the Klang Valley (26.2 percent) and Negeri Sembilan (4.7 percent).

According to health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, a quarter of all new cases involved detention centres or prisons. PTS Tawau, involving a detention centre in Tawau, Sabah, was the cluster which most of the new cases were attributed to.

In Peninsular Malaysia, the clusters with the newest cases were the Teratai cluster (18 new cases) followed by Hentian (16).

The Teratai cluster involved a glove factory in the Kapar district, Selangor. The Hentian cluster referred to a cluster which originated from the Kajang bus station in Selangor. The Hentian cluster is the second-largest cluster in the Klang Valley (831 cumulative cases). 

Leading indicators: 

• Active cases - 12,814 ↓ (26 fewer than the previous day)

• Intensive care - 103 ↓ (1 less than the previous day)

• Intubated patients - 41 ↑ (1 more than the previous day)

• Deaths - 4

Two deaths were reported in Perak and Sabah respectively, bringing the total national death toll to 322.

Patient 25,714 and Patient 45,075 were both female Malaysian citizens with a history of other illnesses. They were pronounced dead at the Raja Pemaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, Perak.

The case number for patient 25,714 indicated that she had been diagnosed in the third week of October.

Patient 49,017 was a female foreigner while Patient 49,018 is a male Malaysian citizen. Both died at the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan, Sabah.

Their case numbers suggested that they were diagnosed sometime over the past 24 hours.

Of the 660 new cases, four were imported cases. 

The breakdown of new locally transmitted cases is as follows:

Sabah (387)

Existing clusters: 177

New cluster (Sabaru, Tomher and Garden): 85

Close contact: 51

Other screenings: 74

Selangor (139)

Existing clusters: 65

New cluster (Putra-18): 2

Close contact: 28

Other screenings: 44

Negeri Sembilan (31)

Existing clusters: 25

Close contact: 2

Other screenings: 4

Kuala Lumpur (29)

Existing clusters: 9

New cluster (Murni): 4

Close contact: 4

Other screenings: 16

Penang (16)

Existing clusters: 10

New cluster (Seri Pasir): 4

Close contact: 1

Patient with symptoms: 1

Perak (16)

Existing clusters: 12

Patient with symptoms: 3

Close contact: 1

Labuan (13)

Existing clusters: 5

Close contact: 4

Other screenings: 4

Kedah (11)

Existing clusters: 11

Malacca (4)

Existing clusters: 4

Sarawak (3)

New cluster (Demak): 3

Johor (3)

Existing clusters: 2

New cluster (Parit Kassan): 1

Kelantan (3)

Existing clusters: 3

Putrajaya (1)

New cluster (Putra-18): 1

Terengganu, Perlis and Pahang did not report any new cases.

The Health Ministry today classified eight new clusters.

The Sabaru cluster involved the Lahad Datu district in Sabah where 88 cases had been reported to date and 1,517 test results pending. The index case for this cluster reported symptoms on Nov 3.

The Tomher cluster involved the Ranau district in Sabah where 20 cases had been reported to date and 250 test results are pending. The index cases are construction workers who have been subjected to screening since Nov 9.

The Garden cluster involved the Tawau district in Sabah where 11 cases had been reported to date and 24 test results are pending. The index case reported symptoms on Nov 7.

The Putra-18 cluster involved Putrajaya as well as the Petaling and Sepang districts in Selangor, where seven cases had been reported to date and 45 test results are pending. The index case reported symptoms on Nov 14.

The Murni cluster involved the Cheras and Kepong district in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Petaling district in Selangor, where seven cases had been reported to date and two test results are still pending. The index case had reported symptoms on Nov 15.

The Seri Pasir cluster involved the Northeast district in Penang, where 11 cases had been reported and 13 test results are still pending. The index case had reported symptoms on Nov 11.

The Besi Demak cluster involved the Kuching district in Sarawak, where five cases had been reported and 12 test results are still pending. The index case reported symptoms on Nov 15.

The Parit Kassan cluster involved the Tangkak district in Johor as well as the Malacca Tengah district in Malacca, where 11 cases had been reported and 24 test results are still pending. The index case reported symptoms on Nov 13.

The cumulative Covid-19 death toll for Sabah has reached 182 or 56.52 percent of the national total.