Malaysia recorded 1,041 new Covid-19 cases as of noon Saturday (Nov 21), bringing the total number of infections in the country to 53,679.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there were currently 12,854 active Covid-19 cases in the country.
He said that of the 1,041 new cases, two were imported while the rest were locally transmitted.
The three states that recorded the highest number of cases were Selangor (402), Sabah (346) and Negri Sembilan (121).
“The high number of Covid-19 cases in Selangor is due to the increase of cases from the Teratai cluster, which recorded 298 cases.
“In Sabah, the high number of cases was recorded due to the Covid-19 screenings actively being conducted, while the increase in Negri Sembilan is due to more cases from existing clusters,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham added that 21 cases were from prisons, namely the Jalan Harapan, Tembok and Seberang Prai clusters.
He said there were 1,405 recoveries, bringing the total number of those discharged to 40,493 cases.
“There are 108 Covid-19 cases being treated in intensive care units (ICU), with 45 cases requiring ventilator support,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said three fatalities were recorded, bringing the death toll to 332.
All the deaths were again restricted to Sabah. The latest deaths involved two local men aged 62 and 78 as well as a 55-year-old foreign woman, all of whom had pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, among others.
The Health Ministry has detected three new Covid-19 clusters in the country: the Jalan Harapan Prison Cluster in Sungai Buloh; the Kota Kecil Cluster in Kota Tinggi; and the Sky Coklat Cluster in Labuan.
The health director-general also announced the end of two clusters — Bah Kayu and Lekir, bringing the number of clusters which had ended to 159.
“There are 168 active clusters to date and 36 of them have new cases,” he said.