COVID-19 | The Health Ministry reported 935 new Covid-19 cases with the bulk of them in Sabah, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

It also reported 2,555 recoveries, a record high. This helped reduce the total number of active cases and relieve the strain on Covid-19 hospitals.

The latest figures put the cumulative Covid-19 cases at 60,752 to date while the cumulative recoveries stand at 49,056.

Leading indicators:

Active cases: 11,348 ↓ (1,623 less than the previous day)

Patients in intensive care: 110  (unchanged)

Intubated patients: 45 ↓ (Two less than the previous day)

Deaths: 3 ↓  (One less than the previous day)

The four new fatalities put the death toll at 348. Details of the deaths are as follow:

Patient 33,905 (Death 346): 70-year-old Malaysian woman. Died at Hospital Duchess of Kent, Sabah. No reported pre-existing condition.

Patient 50,960 (Death 347): 59-year-old Malaysian man. Died at Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Sabah. Had a history of high blood pressure and asthma.

Patient 59,134 (Death 348): 77-year-old Malaysian woman. Confirmed dead at Hospital Tawau, Sabah. Had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure.

The breakdown of new cases by states is as follows:

Sabah (326)
Existing cluster: 47
New clusters: 14 (Bot Biru cluster and Blok 31 cluster).
Close contacts: 157
Other screenings: 108

Selangor (161)
Existing clusters: 52
Close contacts: 25
Imported: 2
Other screenings: 82

Negeri Sembilan (158)
Existing clusters: 147
Close contacts: 6
Other screenings: 5

Perak (79)
Existing clusters: 75
Other screenings: 4

Johor (60)
Existing clusters: 31
New clusters: 23 (Gemilang cluster)
Close contacts: 2
Other screenings: 4

Kuala Lumpur (59)
Existing clusters: 26
New clusters: 4 (Sungai Udang construction site cluster)
Close contacts: 3
Other screenings: 26

Kelantan (28)
Existing clusters: 10
New clusters: 9 (Chengal cluster)
Close contacts: 5
Other screenings: 4

Kedah (24)
Existing clusters: 23
Other screenings: 1

Penang (17)
Existing clusters: 2
New cluster: 7 (Damar Laut cluster)
Close contacts: 2
Other screenings: 6

Labuan (13)
Existing clusters: 6
Close contacts: 2
Other screenings: 5

Putrajaya (5)
Existing clusters: 4
Close contacts: 1

Sarawak (4)
Imported: 2
Other screenings: 2

Terengganu (1)
Other screenings: 1

There were no new reported cases in Pahang, Malacca and Perlis for today.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a statement, reported the emergence of six new clusters.

On the flip side, two clusters were declared over, namely the Tuguson cluster and Seri Gaya cluster.

This means 173 out of 345 clusters are still active. Of this, 44 of the active clusters recorded new cases today.

The new clusters are Bot Biru and Blok 31 in Sabah, Gemilang in Johor, Sungai Udang construction site in Kuala Lumpur, Chengal in Kelantan and Damar Laut in Penang.

The Bot Biru cluster involved the district of Tawau in Sabah. The index case is Patient 46,546 who was discovered on Nov 15. 

Contact tracing found a total of 17 positive Covid-19 cases in the cluster to date.

The Blok 31 cluster also involved the district of Tawau. It was traced to Patient 52,971 who tested positive on Nov 21 during a screening of symptomatic patients.

To date, a total of 13 people in the cluster have Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the Gemilang cluster in Johor Bahru contributed to a spike of Covid-19 cases in the state today.

The index case (58,837) was a severe acute respiratory infection (Sari) patient. The patient was discovered on Nov 24 and since then, 26 people have been found to be infected with Covid-19.

The Sungai Udang construction site cluster is located in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur.

The index case is patient 54,604 who was found to be infected with Covid-19 during a workplace screening on Nov 22.

To date, a total of 11 people in the cluster have the virus.

The Chengal cluster involved the districts of Kota Bharu and Machang in Kelantan.

The index case (54,773) was a Sari patient who tested positive for Covid-19 on Nov 21. 

To date, a total of 15 people in the cluster have Covid-19.

The Damar Laut cluster involved the districts of Timur Laut and Barat Daya in Penang.

A screening of symptomatic patients on Nov 21 found five people infected with Covid-19.

This prompted authorities to screen a total of 651 people and to date, 13 people in the cluster have the virus.

Source : From https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/552671

COVID-19 | The global tally of confirmed coronavirus cases hit 60 million on Wednesday, with the pace of new infections accelerating and the United States reporting record numbers of hospitalisations, according to a Reuters tally.

Officials in the United States, the worst-affected country in the world, urged Americans to stay home for the imminent Thanksgiving holiday as soaring numbers of Covid-19 patients pushed medical professionals to the brink.

The United States has reported one million new Covid-19 cases in less than a week, taking its total reported infections to over 12.5 million and its death toll to 260,000, according to the Reuters data based on official statements.

Globally, infections stood at 60.005 million and deaths at 1.4 million.

An analysis of the Reuters data showed the rate of new infections picking up globally. It took just 17 days to go from 50 million cases to 60 million, compared with the 21 days it took to go from 40 million to 50 million. Around 580,000 cases have been reported each day over the past week and around half of all cases since the start of the pandemic were reported over the past 70 days.

In Europe, one million new cases were recorded over just five days, for a total of more than 16 million cases, including 365,000 deaths.

Governments across Europe are struggling to impose restrictions on public life while allowing families to celebrate Christmas without further fuelling outbreaks.

While a national lockdown in England is due to end next week, Germany, Spain and Italy have all announced restrictions over the holiday period, including limits on house guests.

The Latin American region has the highest number of reported deaths in the world, representing about 21 percent of all global cases and over 31 percent of all global deaths reported.

Brazil last week joined the United States and India as the only countries to have recorded more than six million infections. With almost 170,000 confirmed fatalities, Brazil has the world’s second-highest death toll.

While India remains the second-worst affected country in the world with almost 9.2 million cases, it has continued to report a slowdown in new cases in recent weeks. It has reported an average of around 44,000 cases a day over the past week, well down from a peak of just under 97,900 cases in mid-September.

Asia-Pacific countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand had shown how rapid, local, and intrusive steps can be effective in extinguishing outbreaks.

– Reuters

Source :From https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/552561

The minister must have been blindfolded during the first visit…’

Minister finds Top Glove hostels in terrible condition, vows action

Pegasus: Why only check Top Glove? Go and check all the other workers’ hostels run by the other manufacturing companies. I am sure Human Resources Minister M Saravanan will find more abhorrent conditions, maybe even worse than Top Glove.

Our migrant workers are treated so badly by their employers, but when one of them complained, and Al Jazeera reported it, he was thrown into prison and banished to Bangladesh. All because the government refused to admit that our migrant workers are ill-treated in Malaysia.

Now you see what has happened. Disease and illnesses are spreading amongst them because they are not well looked after and treated humanely by their employers.

Our labour department seriously needs to buck up. Saravanan needs to do more as a minister of human resources.

WhiteHare7559: Saravanan and friends in the cabinet, you mean your ministry did not know about conditions of migrant workers’ accommodation, or is this just a face-saving statement to cover up your incompetence?

What about the “accommodation” of workers at all the construction sites, factories, hawker centres, et cetera. They live in deplorable makeshift shacks that pass off as homes.

All this so that their employers can enjoy big fat bonuses and their wives can adorn themselves with Cartier products.

Newday: “Shortcomings” to “terrible” within the space of four months. The hostels were terrible then as well. Now that we have a Covid-19 outbreak among the foreign workers, you have no choice – you cannot continue with ‘cover-ups’ anymore.

Saravanan, you were a fierce defender of Top Glove against the damning international reports and sanctions then.

It is so typical here – conceal and deflect our severe shortcomings of basic human rights for these imported workers. Once found out, you present a completely different story.

This issue of terrible quality accommodation has been around for years and reported on for many years as well. To resolve this issue is not the sole responsibility of Top Glove; it is a combined government and private enterprise solution.

The government facilitated the importing of workers and then turned a blind eye to their disgusting conditions after they arrive. You enabled this current crisis.

These people are humans first and foremost. I know of cockroaches that are treated better.

Hrrmph: Interesting isn’t it, that in July there were only shortcomings in the hostels that can be addressed but four months later, it is in “terrible” conditions.

And after Top Glove’s worker welfare has been in the limelight around the world, the company has reportedly hired independent consultants on the matter.

One can’t help but surmised that the minister must have been blindfolded during the first visit, or so incompetent as not to know what he is saying.

Public Transit Is Better Than Highways: Finally, you are realising the issue highlighted by Al Jazeera a few months ago?

Either way, congratulations. You’ve just proved further that Al Jazeera’s documentary on migrant lockup conditions is true and beyond what the ordinary Malaysians might know.

YellowShark2197: US investigators had criticised this company, but some politicians were adamant in defending them at that time.

This is what happens in many factories and businesses in the country. They pay peanuts and provide horrible accommodation and a bad working environment so much so that many locals just don’t want to work there.

Enforcement officers don’t act because we all know what happens between the officers and employers.

BlueShark1548: Singapore checked and tested all its foreign workers and their hostels. Where conditions in the hostels were substandard, they were improved.

The actions taken by Singapore’s health ministry resulted in a big spike of Covid-19 cases reported, but the results of its actions are that the pandemic is now contained.

Malaysia took the politically correct course of not stirring the hornet’s nest and had low figures to make our health director-general look good.

However, it was inevitable that the DG would have to confront the issue of foreign workers. Now when we face the issue, Covid-19 has spread to more foreign workers and also locals.

This is the result when politicians interfere in what ought to be done by our healthcare professionals.

Low Class Coolie: 1) Raked in billions in profit yet treats migrant workers like dirt. Is there no basic human decency?

2) Red flags were raised by US authorities on Top Glove’s treatment of migrant workers, yet the relevant local ministry took no action.

3) Widespread virus amongst the migrant workers in Singapore for months, yet no proactive actions taken by our authorities with our workers.

Now that the virus situation is out of control and suddenly Saravanan wakes up and “does his round”. What a comedy of errors, and typical responses that are too little and too late.

Pokokelapa: Yes, this is the usual response from politicians. It never changes; this is all part of our culture, only to get worse. They all knew about it, but who cares?

Only when there is an issue, there will be a bit of drama and ‘wayang’ (show). Once the dust settles down, it is back to good old days. These people are good for nothing.

Source : From https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/552559

COVID-19 | The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus.

Plasma treatment shows no benefit in severe Covid-19

Blood plasma from Covid-19 survivors was of little benefit to patients with severe Covid-19 pneumonia, researchers in Argentina on Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. So-called convalescent plasma, which delivers Covid-19 survivors’ antibodies to infected people, did not improve critically ill patients’ health status or reduce their risk of dying from the disease any better than a placebo. Researchers randomly assigned 333 hospitalised patients with severe Covid-19 pneumonia to receive convalescent plasma or a placebo.

After 30 days, they saw no significant differences in patients’ symptoms or health. Mortality rates were nearly the same: 11 percent in the convalescent plasma group and 11.4 percent in the placebo group, a difference not deemed statistically significant. It is still possible that convalescent plasma might help less-sick patients who get the treatment earlier in their illness, said study leader Dr Ventura Simonovich of the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. A separate randomised trial from Argentina, posted on Saturday ahead of peer review, found that when elderly Covid-19 patients received convalescent plasma within 72 hours after their symptoms began instead of a placebo, they were significantly less likely to become severely ill.

Covid-19 may hurt male fertility

Evidence of testes damage from Covid-19 has been accumulating in a series of small autopsy studies, suggesting that the new coronavirus could have an impact on . Researchers from the University of Miami in Florida compared testis tissues from six men who died of Covid-19 and three who died of other causes. Three of the Covid-19 patients had testis damage that would impair their ability to produce sperm.

A Chinese research team made similar observations earlier this year and also found that some Covid-19 patients’ immune systems “attacked” the testes, causing severe inflammation, or orchitis. A separate Chinese team found “significant damage” to the basic cellular tissue of the testicles in 12 men who died of Covid-19. “The possibility that Covid-19 damages the testes and impacts fertility… warrants gonadal function evaluation in men infected with Covid-19, or who have recovered from Covid-19, and desire fertility,” the Miami team concluded in a report published in the World Journal of Men’s Health.

Mutations do not appear to help coronavirus spread faster

The novel coronavirus is picking up genetic changes as it spreads around the world, but the mutations currently documented do not appear to help it spread faster, scientists said on Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications. Using a global dataset of virus genomes from 46,723 people with Covid-19 from 99 countries, researchers identified more than 12,700 mutations in the genetic material of the virus. Of those, the scientists focused on 185 mutations that they found had occurred at least three times independently during the course of the pandemic.

“Fortunately, we found that none of these mutations are making Covid-19 spread more rapidly,” said co-author Lucy van Dorp of University College London’s Genetics Institute. Other experts, however, have suggested that one mutation, known as D614G, did increase the transmissibility of the virus. Francois Balloux, a UCL professor who worked on the study, said that its findings, for now, posed no threat to Covid-19 vaccine efficacy. “The virus may well acquire vaccine-escape mutations in the future, but we’re confident we’ll be able to flag them up promptly, which would allow updating the vaccines in time if required,” he said.

Most Americans still lack Covid-19 antibodies

As of September, the vast majority of US residents still had to the new coronavirus, antibody test results suggest. In all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, researchers looked for Covid-19 antibodies in nearly 178,000 blood samples collected between July and September from patients undergoing tests for non-coronavirus-related reasons. In all but a few states, antibody levels suggested that less than 10 percent of the population had been infected with or recovered from Covid-19.

The highest prevalence of Covid-19 antibodies was in New York – the early epicentre of the US outbreak – where about 25 percent of blood samples were positive by mid-August. In some states, the proportion of people with Covid-19 antibodies appeared to be below one percent. So-called seroprevalence rates tended to wane over time, researchers found, although they rose in some states, including Georgia and Minnesota. In published on Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine, the researchers said more work is needed to know whether and how the presence of antibodies affect people’s vulnerability to COVID-19 reinfection.

– Reuters

Source : From https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/552558

RESIDENCES

– Jalan Scientex Jaya, Taman Scientex Jaya, Kulai, Johor

Three Covid-19 cases were detected here yesterday, the Kulai Health Office said.

– Jalan Bangau, Bandar Putra, Kulai, Johor

A Covid-19 case was detected here yesterday, the Kulai Health Office said

Source : From https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/552555