KUALA LUMPUR: Six new positive Covid-19 cases have been reported nationwide as of noon today, including five local transmissions involving Malaysians in Kedah.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the additional number of cases brought the total number of Covid-19 cases to 9,291 since the pandemic struck the country.
He said three of those local cases were from the Tawar Cluster, bringing the total number of infections to 73 people. A total of 4,051 people in the cluster from Kedah, Penang and Perak have been screened.
"In Kedah, out of 3,514 people screened, 62 cases were found to have been infected with Covid-19; 2,884 individuals were negative while 568 persons are awaiting their results.
"In Penang, out of 526 people screened, 11 positive cases were detected; 513 individuals were negative, while results are pending for two individuals.
"In Perak, 11 screenings were conducted and all turned out negative," Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement today.
The two other local transmission cases in Kedah comprised a Severe Acute Respiratory Infection patient at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Alor Star, and another person with symptoms who was tested at the same hospital.
Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry was proactively conducting various public health intervention measures with other government agencies, including preventive activities to curb the spread of Covid-19.
"It is being done to stop the transmission chain, especially in Kedah, where 85 per cent of positive cases are reported in the cluster. Field activities are continuous, including the screening of close contacts of Covid-19 positive cases.
"We are also taking steps to heighten active case tracing and enforcement on the Standard Operating Procedures. Schools (in the area) are closed and the premises affected are disinfected and sanitisied while risk communications to the people will be enhanced," he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said of the six new cases, one was an imported case which was reported in Selangor. The foreign patient, he said, contracted Covid-19 in Singapore.
He said there were no new deaths and the number of fatalities remained at 125 cases. There were currently 188 cases of active infectivity where all patients had been isolated and treated.
He said seven patients had recovered from Covid-19, while nine other patients were being treated in the Intensive Care Unit of which six require ventilator support.