Covid-19 (March 10): 1,448 new cases, five deaths

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 1,448 new Covid-19 cases and five deaths.

The Klang Valley recorded the most cases (45.9 percent) followed by Johor (18.9 percent) and Sarawak (13.7 percent).

New infections in the Klang Valley mostly compose of those detected through existing clusters or contact tracing, with relatively low levels of those detected through "other screenings". 

New transmissions mostly involved Malaysians (61.1 percent).

• Active cases: 18,009
• Patients in ICUs: 151
• Intubated: 72

Deaths

There were five deaths reported today - two in Selangor and one in Sabah, Johor and Malacca respectively. 

The victims were all Malaysians with comorbidities. Their age ranged from 43 to 72. Details of the victims can be found on Kini News Lab's Covid-19 tracker website.

The national Covid-19 death toll stood at 1,191 today. 

Today marked the 100th death reported by Johor, which is the fourth worst hit region after Kuala Lumpur (107 deaths), Selangor (304) and Sabah (381).

Clusters

Of the 449 active clusters, 59 reported new cases today. The most active new cluster is a construction site cluster known as Tapak Bina Jalan Zamrud (151 new cases, Selangor) that was announced yesterday and the Parit Penyengat Darat cluster (123 new cases, Johor) that was announced on Feb 4.

The Health Ministry classified five new clusters today - the lowest this year - which involved two clusters identified through targeted screening of workplaces.

There were two community clusters - Sungai Puteh and Melor - but details are scant.

A cluster known as Pona is the first "imported" cluster of the year.

Parit Penyengat Darat cluster
District(s): Muar, Johor
Locality/Source: Factory in Kawasan Perindustrian Parit Jamil
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 6, targeted screening
Total infected: 124 out of 317 screened

Dagang Permai cluster
District(s): Hulu Langat, Selangor
Locality/Source: Supermarket security guards and staff at Taman Dagang Permai
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 1, targeted screening
Total infected: 16 out of 135 screened

Sungai Puteh cluster
District(s): Hulu Langat, Selangor
Locality/Source: Kampung Bukit Puteh, Sungai Puteh, Lembah Jaya Utara
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 7, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 21 out of 65 screened

Melor cluster
District(s): Pusa, Sarawak
Locality/Source: Kampung Tengah Beladin
Cluster category: Community
First case: Feb 27, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 14 out of 335 screened

Pona cluster
District(s): Johor Bahru, Johor
Locality/Source: Cargo ship crew at the Port of Tg Pelepas
Cluster category: Imported
First case: March 6, pre-departure screening of seamen
Total infected: 8 out of 25 screened