Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 18): Malaysia recorded 15,549 new Covid-19 cases today, marking the third straight day of a decline in the daily figure, according to Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Of the latest infections, 15,286 cases or 98.31% had no symptoms (Category 1) or only mild symptoms (Category 2), he said in a statement.

The remaining 263 cases or 1.69% were in Category 3 (patients with pneumonia), Category 4 (patients with pneumonia requiring oxygen therapy) or Category 5 (critical patients requiring assisted ventilation).

Dr Noor Hisham added that Sarawak recorded the highest daily number with 2,929 infections today, followed by Johor (2,208), Selangor (1,995) and Sabah (1,395).

Other states which recorded four-digit new cases included Pulau Pinang (1,375), Kelantan (1,214), Perak (1,120) and Kedah (1,073).

This was followed by Terengganu with 755 infections, Pahang (634), Kuala Lumpur (382), Melaka (263), Negeri Sembilan (131), Perlis (33), Putrajaya (31) and Labuan (11). 

A total of 888 Covid-19 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), 401 of whom required ventilators.

Meanwhile, daily recoveries stood at 17,205, down from 22,970 yesterday, but continued to exceed new infections for the second consecutive day.

Cumulatively, the country's Covid-19 case tally rose further to 2.08 million versus 1.84 million total recoveries.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) reported 16 new clusters, comprising 10 workplace clusters, four community clusters and two high-risk group clusters. To date, 5,263 clusters have been detected nationwide, of which 3,899 have ended, while 1,364 are active.

One new case among Langkawi tourism bubble-bound travellers

A single Covid-19 positive case was detected today among travellers screened at air and sea entry points to Langkawi. 

Dr Noor Hisham said the patient, detected through an RTK-Antigen test at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), was found among 2,507 individuals who were screened before leaving for the Langkawi tourism bubble.

“The Covid-19 positive case was determined to be in Category 1 and was given a home surveillance order (HSO) to undergo home quarantine for a period of 10 days,” he added.

Of the total screened, 2,326 persons underwent screening at airports, while 181 others were tested at the Kuala Perlis Jetty.

As for the types of tests conducted, 2,468 of them took the RTK-Antigen test, while 13 took the RT-PCR test.

The remaining 26 were children aged six years or below, who were exempted from undergoing Covid-19 testing.

On the first day of the Langkawi tourism bubble (Sept 16), five individuals tested positive for Covid-19 after undergoing screening at air and sea entryways to Langkawi. 

On Sept 15, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that travellers intending to visit Langkawi would only be allowed entry to the island destination after testing negative for Covid-19.

The screening could be done via the RT-PCR or RTK-Antigen test. 

Adults aged 18 years or above as well as children and teenagers aged seven to 17 years are required to go through the screening test. 

Meanwhile, children aged six years or below are only required to undergo symptom screening by taking into account their ability to produce saliva.

Edited ByLam Jian Wyn
      Print
      Text Size
      Share