The Health Ministry today reported 1,133 new Covid-19 cases, notably with Penang reporting the second highest number (194). 

Half the new cases in Penang were not from close contacts or clusters, having been detected through “other screenings”. 

According to the Penang Health Department, 124 out of the 194 new cases detected in Penang involved foreigners.

At the national level, Malaysians still made up the bulk of new cases (69.4 percent) and clusters involving detention centres amounted to 7.7 percent of new cases. 

• Active cases: 14,119
• Patients in ICUs: 161
• Intubated: 76

States

As of yesterday, there are six territories which had a R-naught of more than 1 – Kedah, Pahang, Sarawak, Penang, Kelantan and Malacca.

A R-naught of more than one suggests that the spread of Covid-19 was on the rise.

Selangor reported a number of 0.86 while the figure for Kuala Lumpur is 0.94.

Deaths

There were five new Covid-19 deaths reported today, bringing the national death toll to 1,265.

The new deaths were reported in Kuala Lumpur (2), Selangor (1) and Sarawak (2).

The victimes were aged between 34 and 88, all Malaysians with comorbidity. Details of the victims are recorded in Malaysiakini’s our Covid-19 tracker site.

Clusters

The Health Ministry reported that there are still 369 active Covid-19 clusters of which 50 saw new cases today.

The cluster with the most new cases is the Penjara Jalan Harapan cluster (73 cases). This cluster – active since November 2020 – originated from the Sungai Buloh prison and has spread nationwide.

The Health Ministry classified another nine new clusters today, of which only only two were from targeted screening of working places.

This would suggest that the new clusters were being spread by those who had no known connection to close contacts or clusters.

Details of the new clusters are as follow:

Jalan Western cluster
District(s): Sepang and Petaling in Selangor
Locality/Source: Plantation at Western Access Road, Sepang
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 19, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 19 out of 356 screened

Jalan SC Satu cluster
District(s): Hulu Langat in Selangor
Locality/Source: A factory at Jalan SC 1, Pusat Perindustrian Sungai Chua, Kajang
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 29, targeted screening
Total infected: 6 out of 40 screened

Jalan Pinang Raja cluster
District(s): Petaling and Klang in Selangor
Locality/Source: An education institution at Jalan Pinang Raja 18/2, Shah Alam
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 30, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 25 out of 230 screened

Batu Enam Setengah cluster
District(s): Seremban in Negeri Sembilan
Locality/Source: A factory at Batu 6½, Sungai Gadut Industrial Park, Seremban
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 27, targeted screening
Total infected: 47 out of 155 screened

Jalan Sulaiman cluster
District(s): Kepong, Titiwangsa and Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur; Petaling and Gombak in Selangor
Locality/Source: A private company at Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, Kampung Attap, Lembah Pantai
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 29, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 12 out of 48 screened

Fasa Dua Semarak cluster
District(s): Tawau in Sabah
Locality/Source: Vicinity of Taman Semarak, Tawau
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 27, screening prior to new employment
Total infected: 6 out of 15 screened

Ranggu cluster
District(s): Tawau in Sabah
Locality/Source: Vicinity of Kampung Ranggu, Sri Tanjung, Tawau
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 28, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 8 out of 25 screened

Jalan Merak cluster
District(s): Kulai in Johor
Locality/Source: Index case’s residence at Jalan Merak 21, Bandar Putra, Kulai
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 27, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 7 out of 36 screened

Kota Kemajuan cluster
District(s): Johor Bahru and Kota Tinggi in Johor
Locality/Source: Dialisis centre at Jalan Kemajuan, Kota Tinggi
Cluster category: High risk group
First case: March 27, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 5 out of 59 screened

Source:Malaysiakini

The Health Ministry today reported 1,482 new Covid-19 cases nationwide with Selangor registering its highest number of new cases in eight days.

The number of new cases outpaced the number of people who were discharged today, pushing up the number of active Covid-19 cases to 14,604, an up from a low of 14,134 nine days ago. 

Active Covid-19 cases were steadily trending downwards until March 21 (see chart below).

• Active cases: 14,604
• Patients in ICUs: 164
• Intubated: 81

Cases by states

Selangor was the worst-hit region today with 661 new cases. However, the majority of these new cases were linked to clusters (400 cases) and close contacts of Covid-19 positive patients (165).

Other regions with a high number of new cases were Penang (200), Sarawak (176) and Johor at (86).

Unlike other regions in the country, the majority of new cases in Penang over the past four days involved foreigners, indicative of new cases being detected through targeted screening of workplaces.

Apart from Penang, the other territories with an R-naught figure of more than one are Kelantan, Malacca, Kedah, Pahang and Sarawak. A figure of more than one suggests that the number of people infected with Covid-19 is growing.

Deaths

The Health Ministry reported seven new Covid-19 deaths today, bringing the national death toll to 1,272.

Five of the victims were Malaysians while the other two were foreigners. 

Four deaths occurred in Selangor while Johor, Sarawak and Sabah reported one death each.

Details of the victims are recorded in Malaysiakini‘s Covid-19 tracker site. 

Clusters

The Health Ministry today also reported that 370 Covid-19 clusters are still active throughout the country.

The most active cluster is the Tapak Bina Persiaran Cybersouth cluster (196 new cases) which was first classified on March 19.

This construction site cluster involves the Sepang district of Selangor where 207 out of 213 people tested were found to be Covid-19 positive.

The new Jalan Jelawat cluster saw 88 new cases being reported.

There were 13 new Covid-19 clusters classified today of which only one was detected through targeted screening of workplaces.

Notably, there were two clusters involving educational institutions – Hevea Scruciana and Jalan Rasmi.

Details of the 13 new clusters are as follows:

Hevea Scruciana cluster
District(s): Petaling and Klang in Selangor
Locality/Source: Educational institute in Jalan Hevea Scruciana, Shah Alam, Petaling
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 31, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 55 out of 336 screened

Jalan Rasmi cluster
District(s): Gombak, Hulu Langat, Hulu Selangor, Klang, Petaling and Sepang in Selangor; Cheras in Kuala Lumpur
Locality/Source: Two education institutions in Jalan Rasmi 14, Taman Bukit Indah, Ampang
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 16, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 58 out of 119 screened

Jalan Kingsway cluster
District(s): Miri in Sarawak
Locality/Source: A government office in Jalan Kingsway, Miri
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 16, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 51 out of 384 screened

Bulatan Aman cluster
District(s): Sibu in Sarawak
Locality/Source: A factory near Jalan Aman, Sibu
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 21, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 43 out of 89 screened

Jalan Jelawat cluster
District(s): Seberang Perai Utara, Seberang Perai Tengah, Seberang Perai Selatan and Timur Laut in Penang, and  Kerian in Perak
Locality/Source: A factory in Jalan Jelawat 1, Seberang Jaya Industrial Estate, Perai, Seberang Perai Tengah
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 26, targeted screening
Total infected: 145 out of 1,916 screened

Delima Baiduri cluster
District(s): Kuala Muda in Kedah
Locality/Source: An education institution at Lorong Baiduri 3/2, Taman Delima, Sungai Petani
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 23, index case with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection
Total infected: 10 out of 43 screened

Pulau Enoe cluster
District(s): Labuan
Locality/Source: Mining company at Pulau Enoe
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: March 31, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 8 out of 75 screened

Jalan Baji cluster
District(s): Sarikei in Sarawak
Locality/Source: Index case’s residence at Jalan Baji, Sarikei
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 27, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 20 out of 29 screened

Kampung Baru Pasir Putih cluster
District(s): Kalabakan and Tawau in Sabah
Locality/Source: Vicinity of Kampung Baru Pasir Putih, Sri Tanjung, Tawau
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 28, pre-departure screening
Total infected: 8 out of 89 screened

Rimbayan cluster
District(s): Keningau in Sabah
Locality/Source: A funeral, location not stated
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 18, pre-departure screening
Total infected: 15 out of 42 screened

Emas Bemban
District(s): Baling and Sik in Kedah
Locality/Source: Index case’s residence at Kampung Sungai Bemban, Mukim Teloi Kanan, Baling
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 24, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 6 out of 36 screened

Layar cluster
District(s): Kota Setar and Kuala Muda in Kedah
Locality/Source: Social event on March 12 at Jalan Sungai Layar, Sungai Petani
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 22, index case with symptoms
Total infected: 10 out of 16 screened

Lorong Mulia cluster
District(s): Johor Bahru in Johor
Locality/Source: Dialysis centre in Kota Tinggi; Index case’s residence at Lorong Mulia 6, Sungai Tiram, Ulu Tiram
Cluster category: Community
First case: March 24, pre-hospitalisation screening
Total infected: 9 out of 71 screened

---

Source:Malaysiakini