Malaysia reports new daily record of 44 deaths as COVID-19 cases continue to surge
A health worker wearing a protective suit arranges hospital bed at Emergency Department in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 23, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng/Files
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported 44 new COVID-19 fatalities on Saturday (May 15), the country’s highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic.
There have now been a total of 1,866 COVID-19 deaths to date. The country’s previous record was 39 deaths, which was announced just three days ago.
The deaths involved patients aged between 48 and 92. One was a foreigner while the rest were citizens. Many of them had a medical history of diabetes and high blood pressure.
There were also 4,140 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national tally to 466,330. A total of 42,135 cases are currently classified as active or infectious with 503 in the intensive care unit. Of these, 272 require respiratory support.
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This is the fourth consecutive day that Malaysia has logged more than 4,000 new COVID-19 cases.
Most of the new cases reported on Saturday were from the Klang Valley area. Selangor had 1,507 new infections while Kuala Lumpur had 398. Johor recorded 433 cases while 324 were found in Sarawak.
Fifteen new clusters were also identified. Eight involve workplaces while four stemmed from religious activities. Two clusters are linked to education institutions while the remaining cluster involved a centre for the elderly.
Malaysia currently has a total of 466 active clusters.
For the one-week period of May 9 to May 15, the health ministry said there was a 15.9 per cent increase in new positive cases compared to the week before. There was also a 53.7 per cent increase in COVID-19 deaths.
The health ministry warned on Friday that the country may see more than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases a day by June if members of the public fail to adhere to safe management regulations.
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