PUTRAJAYA: Eleven new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Malaysia today, with five of them being Kedah primary school children linked to the Tawar cluster.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there are currently 189 active cases who have been isolated and are undergoing treatment. This brings the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in the country to 9,285.
Of the new cases, nine are local transmissions (all Malaysians) and two (detected in Selangor) are imported, comprising a Malaysian and a foreigner, he said.
The imported cases are travellers who returned from the Philippines and Indonesia.
Dr Noor Hisham said the five new cases under the Tawar cluster were uncovered through active case detection and close contact screening.
"Investigations revealed that they are close contacts of Case 9,197, who is a pre-school pupil (case reported on Aug 16, 2020)."
Meanwhile, he said from Apr 3 to Aug 23, a total of 104,188 Malaysians and foreigners with Permanent Resident (PR) status were screened for Covid-19, with 103,289 quarantined, whether at home or at designated centres.
Of the total, 899 positive Covid-19 cases were detected, isolated and treated at hospitals.
On another development, Dr Noor Hisham said six more Covid-19 patients have recovered from the infection and were discharged today.
He said the overall number of patients who have fully recovered as of noon today stood at 8,971 (96.6 per cent) of the cumulative confirmed cases of Covid-19.
"Eight patients are currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Six have been placed on ventilator support," he said in a daily press conference today.
Dr Noor Hisham said no new death was reported to the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC), and the fatality toll remains at 125 (1.35 per cent of the cumulative cases).
He said the public should avoid "3C" – confined spaces, crowded spaces and close conversation – and practice "3W"; wash (hands with water and soap), wear (face masks in public or if suffering Covid-19 symptoms) and warn (reminders from Health Ministry) in an effort to break the chain of Covid-19 infections.
He also reminded the public to adhere to Standard Operating Procedures, (protect the vulnerable) like children, babies, the elderly and the disabled; and observe physical distancing of one metre.