COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 3,973 new Covid-19 cases amidst another record high number of patients needed intensive care and ventilators.

The number of active Covid-19 cases are also on a 34-day continous upward trend.

Malaysians comprise 89.2 percent of new cases.

• Active cases: 38,499
• Patients in ICU: 453*
• Intubated: 244

States

The Klang Valley has the highest number of new cases (1,819) followed by Sarawak (512) and Johor (384).

There were 1,328 new cases reported in Selangor. One in seven of these cases were detected among those with symptoms but are not related not related to existing clusters or close contacts.

The new case count in Johor has been going on a steady uptrend over the past 14 days.

The R-naught for the country stood at 1.13. A R-naught figure of more than 1.00 suggests that the spread of Covid-19 is accelerating.

The only regions where the R-naught was less than 1.00 are Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak and Kelantan.

Deaths

Another 22 deaths due to Covid-19 were reported today. The death toll currently stands at 1,722.

These deaths were reported in Selangor (6), Kelantan (5), Johor (3), Perak (2), Kuala Lumpur (2), Sabah (1), Sarawak (1), Kedah (1), and Pahang (1).

All the victims were locals. The youngest was 31. There were three victims who were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Details of the victims are documented on Malaysiakini’s Covid-19 tracker site.

Clusters

The Health Ministry is currently monitoring 448 active Covid-19 clusters.

The cluster with the most number of new cases is the Jalan Utarid Lima cluster (63) in Selangor. This cluster has been active since March 3.

Another 13 new clusters were classified by the Health Ministry today. Details are as follows:

[Editor’s note: Since May 8, the Health Ministry does not state street or neighbourhood names when reporting new clusters.]

Balakong Jaya Tiga cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Hulu Langat
Total infected: 10 out of 15 screened

Jalan Raja Musa cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Kuala Selangor
Total infected: 6 out of 138 screened

Jalan Maharani cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Johor
District(s): Muar and Tangkak
Total infected: 33 out of 147 screened

Bukit Minyak Lapan cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Penang
District(s): Seberang Perai Utara, Seberang Perai Tengah and Seberang Perai Selatan
Total infected: 37 out of 189 screened

Dah Empat Kota cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Kedah
District(s): Kota Setar, Kuala Muda, Penandg and Yan
Total infected: 10 out of 45 screened

Kompleks Empat cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Sabah
District(s): Kota Kinabalu, Kota Belud, Papar, Penampang, Putatan, Ranau, Sandakan and Tuaran
Total infected: 26 out of 97 screened

Gudang Genting cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Pahang
District(s): Bentong
Total infected: 14 out of 917 screened

Desa Kemuning cluster
Category: Religious event
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Klang
Total infected: 10 out of 35 screened

Jalan Haji Alias cluster
Category: Religious event
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Klang
Total infected: 13 out of 30 screened

Pekan Pasir Mas cluster
Category: Religious event
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Pasir Mas and Machang
Total infected: 51 out of 161 screened

Jalan Kesyukuran cluster
Category: Religious event
State(s): Johor
District(s): Kota Tinggi
Total infected: 14 out of 42 screened

Dah Lalang cluster
Category: Religious event
State(s): Kedah
District(s): Baling
Total infected: 13 out of 19 screened

Ulu Anap cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Sarawak
District(s): Tatau and Bintulu
Total infected: 19 out of 125 screened

Emperan cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Sarawak
District(s): Selangau
Total infected: 97 out of 436 screened

Kampung Sawah cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Johor
District(s): Pontian
Total infected: 6 out of 60 screened

Pelagat Tiga cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Terengganu
District(s): Besut
Total infected: 32 out of 230 screened

Parit Lima cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Perak
District(s): Hilir Perak
Total infected: 10 out of 146 screened

Jalan Jurutera cluster
Category: Non-Education Ministry institution
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Petaling and Gombak
Total infected: 12 out of 43 screened

Jalan Baling cluster
Category: Non-Education Ministry institution
State(s): Perak
District(s): Hulu Perak
Total infected: 41 out of 547 screened

Source:Malaysiakini

NEW DELHI: Calls grew for India to impose a nationwide lockdown as new coronavirus cases and deaths held close to record highs on Monday (May 10), increasing pressure on the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths reported by the health ministry were off a little from recent peaks, taking India’s tally to 22.66 million with 246,116 deaths.

As many hospitals grapple with an acute shortage of oxygen and beds while morgues and crematoriums overflow, experts have said India’s actual figures could be far higher than reported.

Sunday’s 1.47 million tests for COVID-19 were this month’s lowest yet, data from the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research showed. The figure compared with a daily average of 1.7 million for the first eight days of May.

The number of positive results from the tests was not immediately clear, however.

Many states have imposed strict lockdowns over the last month while others have placed curbs on movement and shut cinemas, restaurants, pubs and shopping malls.

READ: India turns to ex-army medics as COVID-19 surge sparks calls for lockdown

READ: Long-haul carrier Emirates to ship COVID-19 aid for free into India

But pressure is mounting on Modi to announce a nationwide lockdown as he did during the first wave of infections last year.

He is battling criticism for allowing huge gatherings at a religious festival and holding large election rallies during the past two months even as cases surged.

“A failure of governance of epic and historic proportions,” Vipin Narang, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, said on Twitter.

On Sunday, top White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said he had advised Indian authorities they needed to shut down.

“You’ve got to shut down,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week” television show. “I believe several of the Indian states have already done that, but you need to break the chain of transmission. And one of the ways to do that is to shut down.”

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also called for a “complete, well-planned, pre-announced” lockdown.

New Delhi, the capital, entered a fourth week of lockdown, with tougher curbs such as the shutdown of the suburban rail network, while residents scrambled for scarce hospital beds and oxygen supplies.

“This is not the time to be lenient,” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.

“This phase is so tough, this wave is so dangerous, so many people are dying … the priority at this hour is to save lives,” he said in a televised address.

Late on Sunday, the northern state of Uttarakhand said it would impose curfew from Tuesday until May 18, just days after mass religious gatherings held in the state became virus super spreading events.

Shops selling fruits, vegetables and dairy items will stay open for some hours in the morning, while malls, gyms, theatres, bars and liquor shops are among the enterprises that will be shut, the government said.

Organisers of the popular and lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament conceded the remaining games will have to be played overseas after they suspended the contest over the virus this month.

Global support, in the form of oxygen cylinders and concentrators, ventilators and other medical gear, has poured in.

On Monday, US company Eli Lilly and Co said it signed licensing deals with Indian drugmakers, such as Cipla, Lupin and Sun Pharma to make and sell its arthritis drug baricitinib for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

India’s drug regulator has approved the drug for restricted emergency use in combination with remdesivir for hospitalised adult sufferers in need of supplemental oxygen.

By Sunday, the world’s largest vaccine-producing nation had fully vaccinated just over 34.3 million, or only 2.5 per cent, of its population of about 1.35 billion, government data shows.

Source: Reuters/jt

BEIJING: China will set up a “separation line” on the peak of Mount Everest to avoid possible COVID-19 infections by climbers from virus-hit Nepal, state media reported, after dozens were taken ill from the summit’s base camp.

While the virus first emerged in China in late 2019, it has largely been brought under control in the country through a series of strict lockdowns and border closures.

More than 30 sick climbers were evacuated from base camp on the Nepalese side of the world’s highest peak in recent weeks as Nepal faces a deadly second wave of COVID-19, raising fears that the virus might ruin a bumper climbing season.

Mount Everest straddles the China-Nepal border, with the north slope belonging to China.

Tibetan authorities told reporters at a press conference they would take the “most stringent epidemic prevention measures” to avoid contact between climbers on the north and south slopes or at the top, reported the official Xinhua news agency on Sunday.

Mountain guides will set up dividing lines on the summit of the mountain before allowing mountaineers to start the gruelling climb up, the head of the Tibet Mountaineering Association was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The official did not provide details on what the dividing lines would be made of.

READ: COVID-19 threatens Everest climbing comeback plans

READ: Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as COVID-19 cases surge

Twenty-one Chinese climbers have been approved to climb to the summit of Everest this year after having quarantined in Tibet since early April, the official added.

The Chinese side will also step up virus control measures at the Chinese base camp on the northern side of the mountain, with non-climber tourists in the Everest scenic area forbidden to enter.

China has banned foreign nationals from climbing Everest since last year due to the virus outbreak.

But this year, Nepal has issued a record number of climbing permits to try and boost visitors after its tourism industry suffered a devastating blow through 2020 from the pandemic.

An Everest permit alone from Nepal costs US$11,000 and climbers pay upwards of US$40,000 for an expedition.

More than a thousand people are typically camped at the bustling tent city at the foot of Everest on the Nepalese side at any one time, including foreign climbers and the teams of Nepali guides that escort them to the peak.

In the last three weeks, Nepal’s daily case trajectory has shot up with two out of five people tested now returning positive as infections spill over from neighbouring India’s deadly second wave.

Source: AFP/kg

Source: AFP/ec

TOKYO: World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe said Sunday (May 9) he believes the coronavirus-postponed Tokyo Olympics can be “a beacon of hope and optimism”, despite infections surging in Japan and other countries.

A virus state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of Japan was extended on Friday, less than three months before the Games are due to begin.

The emergency measures come as Olympic organisers struggle to win over a sceptical Japanese public, who fear the Games could spread infections despite a ban on overseas fans and possibly domestic spectators too.

But Coe, speaking at an athletics test event held behind closed doors at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, said he believes the Games can “have a profound impact” on the world and moved to reassure the Japanese public that “we take those concerns very, very seriously”.

“I think that it will also act as a beacon of hope and optimism in a world that I hope is soon moving back to some type of normalcy,” he told reporters.

READ: IOC vice president says ‘safe and successful’ Tokyo Games will go ahead

“I think that these Games will leave a strong lasting legacy, not just for Japan but at a time when the world is coming to terms with some pretty difficult and harrowing months.”

Japan’s COVID-19 outbreak remains much smaller than in many countries, with just over 10,500 deaths.

But its vaccine rollout is moving slowly and some areas have seen record cases as more infectious variants drive fresh waves of contagion.

More than 10,000 athletes from 200 countries and regions are set to travel to Tokyo for the Games, with a decision on how many domestic fans – if any – can attend to be taken in June.

More than 300,000 people have signed an online petition titled “Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives”, launched Wednesday by a lawyer and former Tokyo gubernatorial candidate.

A group of around 100 people staged a protest outside Sunday’s athletics test event, which featured 420 athletes, including nine from overseas.

READ: Anti-Olympics campaign gains traction online in Japan

Olympic organisers insist the Games can be held safely and have laid down strict guidelines for athletes, warning they could be kicked out if they break the rules.

“There’s not an athletics federation that will be coming here that doesn’t understand the importance of following the rules and the regulations,” Coe said.

“The athletes are very keen to be here but they also know that they have a responsibility to do everything they possibly can for the infection not to spread.”

Coe admitted that the virus restrictions mean “this is not, under any circumstances, business as usual” and that there are “no perfect solutions” to determine which athletes qualify for the Games.

But he insisted that the competition will be “fair”, and that he has been “consistently bowled over” by the athletes’ ability to deal with the restrictions.

“I think everybody is in the same boat here.”

Source: AFP/ta

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry recorded 4,519 new cases of Covid-19 today and 25 deaths.

The deaths tied with the previous record high, also 25 fatalities, on Feb 18.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah read out the stats in his first press conference since March 4.

• Active cases: 36,564
• Patients in ICUs: 393*
• Intubated: 210

[*Editor’s note: This figure does not include “probable” or “suspected’ Covid-19 cases. See here.]

States

The Klang Valley reported 2,279 cases today, of which 1,722 came from Selangor, followed by 557 new case in Kuala Lumpur.

Sarawak had the third highest cases (479), followed by Kelantan (373) and Penang (363).

Deaths

With the 25 deaths, the national death toll rose to 1,657.

The new fatalities were recording in Sarawak (5), Kuala Lumpur (5), Selangor (4), Johor (4), Kelantan (2), Kedah (2) Penang (1), Perak (1), and Sabah (1)

The deceased were aged between 51 and 88.

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 3,551 new Covid-19 cases amidst a sharp increase in Penang.

The number of patients needing intensive care and ventilators reached a new record high. Malaysia has a finite number of ICU beds and ventilators.

The number of active cases is also continuing to trend upwards.

• Active cases: 33,762
• Patients in ICUs: 354
• Intubated: 199

Breakdown by states

Penang (305) posted its highest new case count in 48 days.

The Klang Valley (1,626) continues to report the highest number of new cases followed by Sarawak (391) and Kelantan (326).

In Selangor, approximately one in four people who tested positive for Covid-19 are not linked to close contacts of Covid-19 positive patients nor could they be linked to existing clusters.

As of yesterday, the R-naught for the country crept up to 1.09 after sitting at 1.07 for two days.

An R-naught of more than 1.00 indicates that the spread of Covid-19 is accelerating, hence an increase in the R-naught figure suggests that the rate of infection has increased.

The only regions where the R-naught is 1.00 or below are Sarawak (1.00), Sabah (0.87) and Perlis (N/A).

Deaths

Another 19 people were reported to have died of Covid-19. The national Covid-19 death toll currently stands at 1,610.

These new deaths were reported in Sarawak (5), Selangor (3), Johor (3), Kelantan (2), Kuala Lumpur (2), Terengganu (1), Pahang (1), Negeri Sembilan (1) and Kedah (1).

The youngest victim was 31. There were five victims who were pronounced dead upon reaching the hospital.

Details of the victims are documented on Malaysiakini’s Covid-19 tracker page.

Clusters

A total of 418 out of 1,740 clusters are still active. From the active clusters, 96 of them contributed to the new cases today.

The Health Ministry is now monitoring 418 active Covid-19 clusters. There were 96 clusters that had new cases.

The cluster with the most number of new cases was the Sungai Besar Jawi cluster (94 new cases), involving a factory in the Penang mainland. This cluster was classified two days ago.

The Health Ministry classified another 14 new clusters today.

Jalan Batu Arang cluster
District(s): Gombak in Selangor
Locality/Source: A factory at Jalan Batu Arang, Rawang, Gombak
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: May 6, targeted screening
Total infected: 15 out of 27 screened

Industri Platinum cluster
District(s): Kuala Selangor in Selangor
Locality/Source: A factory at Jalan Platinum, Kawasan Perindustrian Batu 22, Kuala Selangor
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: May 6, targeted screening
Total infected: 10 out of 51 screened

Persiaran Meru Raya cluster
District(s): Kinta and Manjung in Perak
Locality/Source: A hotel near Persiaran Meru Raya, Ipoh, Kinta
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: May 4, index case reported symptoms
Total infected: 14 out of 45 screened

Persiaran Greentown Tujuh cluster
District(s): Kinta; Larut, Matang and Selama in Perak
Locality/Source: A restaurant at Persiaran Greentown 7, Ipoh, Kinta
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: May 1, index case reported symptoms
Total infected: 11 out of 39 screened

Jalan Temangan cluster
District(s): Machang in Kelantan
Locality/Source: A supermarket at Jalan Temangan, Kampung Pemanok, Machang
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: May 1, index case reported symptoms
Total infected: 9 out of 15 screened

Jalan Pertama Empat cluster
District(s): Johor Bahru in Johor
Locality/Source: A service provider in Jalan Pertama 4, Johor Bahru
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: May 3, index case reported symptoms
Total infected: 8 out of 45 screened

Industri Lengkuk Teknologi cluster
District(s): Seremban and Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan
Locality/Source: A factory at Lengkuk Teknologi 2, Bandar Baru Enstek, Seremban
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: May 4, targeted screening
Total infected: 64 out of 335 screened

Jalan Tunku cluster
District(s): Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Putatan and Penampang in Sabah
Locality/Source: A public administrative centre at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Karamunsing, Kota Kinabalu
Cluster category: Workplace
First case: April 27
Total infected: 10 out of 129 screened

Kampung Chat cluster
District(s): Pasir Mas in Kelantan
Locality/Source: Vicinity of Kampung Chat, Pasir Mas
Cluster category: Community
First case: April 28, index case reported symptoms
Total infected: 17 out of 79 screened

Indera Mahkota Lima cluster
District(s): Kuantan in Pahang
Locality/Source: Vicinity of Lorong Indera Mahkota 5/7, Bandar Indera Mahkota, Kuantan
Cluster category: Community
First case: April 28, index case reported symptoms
Total infected: 18 out of 301 screened

Jalan Sungai Merab cluster
District(s): Hulu Langat and Sepang in Selangor
Locality/Source: School at Jalan Sungai Merab, Kajang, Hulu Langat
Cluster category: MOE regulated institution
First case: May 1, index case is a close contact of a Covid-19 patient
Total infected: 10 out of 295 screened

Jalan Teknologi Kota Damansara cluster
District(s): Petaling in Selangor
Locality/Source: An educational institution at Jalan Teknologi 3/9, Kota Damansara, Petaling
Cluster category: Education (others)
First case: May 4, targeted screening
Total infected: 58 out of 229 screened

Jalan Korma cluster
District(s): Batu Pahat in Johor
Locality/Source: A medical centre at Jalan Korma, Taman Soga, Batu Pahat
Cluster category: High-risk group
First case: April 30, index case reported symptoms
Total infected: 25 out of 477 screened

Dah Lubuk Emas cluster
District(s): Bandar Baharu in Kedah
Locality/Source: Vicinity of Taman Kelisa Emas, Lubuk Buntar, Bandar Baharu
Cluster category: Religious event
First case: May 4, index case reported symptoms
Total infected: 12 out of 28 screened

Source:Malaysiakini