Covid-19 (March 8): 1,529 cases, a new low for this year

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry has reported 1,529 fresh Covid-19 cases, a new low for this year.

Daily infections peaked in late January with a record 5,729 cases on Jan 30.

The new cases for today are at the lowest level since Dec 27 last year.

Of the 1,529 new infections today, 1,180 are Malaysians while another 349 are non-citizens.

The number of active cases finally dipped under 20,000, helped by high recoveries of 2,076 cases today. Active cases are down from a peak of 51,783 on Feb 11.

Active cases are a measure of the strain Covid-19 hospitals are facing. The country has enough beds for 34,126 Covid-19 patients in public hospitals and quarantine centres.

• Active cases: 19,778
• Patients in ICUs: 160
• Intubated: 79

Deaths

Eight new fatalities were reported today, bringing the death toll to 1,177.

The deaths today were from Johor (2), Penang (2), Sabah (2), Sarawak (1) and Kuala Lumpur (1).

They were aged between 61 and 89. All but one suffered from co-morbidities.

Details of the victims can be found on Kini News Lab's Covid-19 tracker website.

New cases by states 

Selangor (726)
Existing clusters: 92
Close contacts: 553
Imported: 5
Other screenings: 76

Sarawak (252)
Existing clusters: 9
Close contacts: 79
Other screenings: 164

Johor (120)
Existing clusters: 21
New clusters: 24 (Cyber 72, Jalan i-Park Tiga clusters)
Close contacts: 34
Imported: 2
Other screenings: 39

Negeri Sembilan (89)
Existing clusters: 57
Close contacts: 24
Other screenings: 8

Pulau Pinang (76)
Existing clusters: 11
Close contacts: 17
Other screenings: 48

Sabah (71)
Existing clusters: 26
Close contacts: 34
Other screenings: 11

Kuala Lumpur (71)
Existing clusters: 9
New cluster: 2 (Jalan Loke Yew cluster)
Close contacts: 35
Imported: 2
Other screenings: 23

Perak (49)
Existing clusters: 29
Close contacts: 17
Other screenings: 3

Kelantan (28)
Existing clusters: 5
Close contacts: 16
Other screenings: 7

Perlis (17)
Existing clusters: 17

Terengganu (13)
Existing clusters: 2
New cluster: 1 (Bukit Bayas cluster)
Close contacts: 9
Other screenings: 1

Kedah (9)
Close contacts: 4
Other screenings: 5

Malacca (4)
Existing clusters: 1
Other screenings: 3

Pahang (3)
Other screenings: 3

Putrajaya (1)
Existing clusters: 1

 
Clusters

To date, 467 out of 1,203 Covid-19 clusters are still active, of which 62 clusters contributed to the new infections today.

This includes nine clusters being declared resolved and the emergence of four new clusters today.

The clusters declared over today are: Jalan Perindustrian, Selasih Perindu, Keladi Saga, Sri Sengkang, Jalan Permata, Jalan Cyber Lima, Tinanom, Jalan Waja and Persiaran Hulu. 

Details of the four new clusters are as follow:

Cyber 72 cluster
District(s): Kulai, Johor
Locality/Source: A factory at Jalan Cyber 5, Senai
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 4
Total infected: 18 out of 163 screened

Jalan i-Park Tiga cluster
District(s): Kulai, Johor
Locality/Source: A factory at Jalan i-Park 1/3, Bandar Indahpura
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 6
Total infected: 8 out of 43 screened

Jalan Loke Yew cluster
District(s): Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
Locality/Source: A supermarket at Jalan Loke Yew, Cheras
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 2
Total infected: 11 out of 16 screened

Bukit Bayas cluster
District(s): Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu; Johor Bahru, Johor; Petaling, Selangor.
Locality/Source: Residential area in Kampung Bukit Bayas, Kuala Terengganu
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 3
Total infected: 23 out of 139 screened