Covid-19 (Dec 23): 1,348 new cases, 5 deaths

UPDATED 7.20PM | COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 1,348 new Covid-19 cases and five deaths.

The Klang Valley reported the most cases (56.8 percent) followed by Sabah (14 percent) and Malacca (9.2 percent).

Selangor reported 535 cases of which 160 cases were detected through "other screenings". Cases detected through those with symptoms amounted to 35 while 24 cases were detected through the pre-departure, pre-new job, pre-hospital admission and voluntary screening. Learn more about "other screenings" here.

In Malacca, 123 of the 124 new cases are from the Jalan Harapan cluster, which originated from the Sungai Buloh prison in Selangor. 

Leading indicators:

• Active cases: 18,279↑ (633 more than the previous day, new record)
• Patients in ICU: 104↓ (9 less than the previous day)
• Intubated patients: 44↓ (7 less than the previous day)
• Deaths: 5

[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 five reported new deaths, only one was from Sabah. The cumulative Covid-19 death toll for Sabah stood at 253 or 57 percent of the national total (444). 

Details of the five victims - all Malaysian citizens with comorbidity - are as follows: 

Patient 69,732 - Female, 40, passed away at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor.

Patient 75,697 - Female, 67, passed away at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor.

Patient 95,578 - Male, 49, body brought to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. 

Patient 97,017 - Male, 71, passed away at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor.

Patient 97,153 - Male, 68, body brought to the Tengku Ja'afar Hospital, Seremban. 

Of the 1,348 new cases, 18 were imported. A breakdown of the new cases are as follows: 

Selangor (535)
Existing clusters:209
Close contact: 154
Imported: 12
Other screenings: 160

Kuala Lumpur (226)
Existing clusters: 145
New clusters: 15
Close contact: 14
Imported: 3
Other screenings: 49

Sabah (189)
Existing clusters: 14
New clusters: 5
Close contact: 113
Other screenings: 57

Malacca (124)
Existing clusters: 123
Close contact: 1

Johor (118)
Existing clusters: 80
Close contact: 24
Other screenings: 14

Pahang (45)
Existing clusters: 44
Close contact: 1

Penang (43)
Existing clusters: 12
Close contact: 9
Other screenings: 22

Negeri Sembilan (31)
Existing clusters: 6
Close contact: 15
Other screenings: 10

Kedah (14)
Existing clusters: 1
New cluster: 8
Close contact: 3
Other screenings: 2

Perak (8)
Existing clusters: 6
New cluster: 1
Close contact: 1

Sarawak (4)
Imported: 1
Other screenings: 3

Kelantan (4)
Close contact: 1
Other screenings: 3

Putrajaya (4)
Close contact: 1
Other screenings: 3

Labuan (2)
Existing clusters: 2

Terengganu (1)
Other screenings: 1

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry reported 208 active clusters, of which 43 reported new cases today.

The Tapak Bina Muda cluster (construction site, Klang Valley) had the most new cases (162) followed by the abovementioned Jalan Harapan cluster and the Teratai cluster (79 cases, glove factory in Selangor).

The Health Ministry classified five new clusters today.

The Tapak Bina Jalan Panah cluster involved a construction site in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur. The screening of workers have been performed since Dec 7 and 21 cases have been detected.

The Menara Wang cluster involved a workplace cluster spanning several districts across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Pahang, where the index case was diagnosed on Dec 17 after reporting symptoms.

The Saga Tengah cluster involved the Tenom and Keningau districts in Sabah where the index case was diagnosed on Dec 18 after reporting symptoms. There are 16 cases in this cluster so far.

The Kolam Air cluster involved the Kota Setar and Kubang Pasu districts in Kedah. The index case - a detainee - was diagnosed on Dec 12. There are 14 cases in this cluster so far.

The Hala Mutiara cluster is another detention centre cluster involving the Kinta District in Perak. There are seven cases in this cluster so far.