A total of 1,075 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the country today along with 11 deaths, the second-highest daily casualty rate reported since the pandemic hit the country earlier this year.
The last time the country reported double-digit deaths in a single day was on November 3, when 12 people died from the coronavirus.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said three of the new cases were imported, while 1,072 cases were local transmissions, taking the total number of active cases to 10,802.
“This also brings the total number of positive Covid-19 cases reported in Malaysia to 69,095,” he said in a statement.
Dr Noor Hisham said the Klang Valley reported the highest number of cases at 508 (47.3 percent) with Selangor contributing 459 of those cases, while Sabah recorded 310 cases (28.8 percent) followed by Johor at 78 cases (7.3 percent).
He added that 658 recoveries were recorded today, bringing the cumulative number of those recovered to 56,969 cases, or 83.8 percent of the total number of cases.
There were 116 positive Covid-19 cases currently being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with 46 in need of respiratory assistance.
The 11 death cases today bring the cumulative number of Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia to 376, or 0.54 percent of the total number of cases.
All the deaths involved locals between the ages of 50 and 81, with three of them reported in Selangor; two each in Sabah and Johor, while Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Kelantan each recorded one casualty.
Most of the cases had a history of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes and stroke.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry detected four new Covid-19 clusters in the country today.
Dr Noor Hisham said three clusters were reported in Sabah and one in Selangor.
The three clusters in Sabah are Jalan Kilang, Perdana Enam and Jalan Kubota, while Monsoon cluster is detected in Selangor.
He also said three previously-announced clusters had ended today, namely Bukit, Tujuh Serangkai and Laut.