More than 19,000 new COVID-19 cases in Malaysia as daily infections, deaths hit record highs

SINGAPORE: Malaysia reported 19,819 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (Aug 4), setting a new record for daily infections since the start of the pandemic.

Deaths from COVID-19 also rose to a new daily record of 257, up from the previous record of 219 fatalities set two days ago.

Aside from 23 imported infections, all the new cases on Wednesday were local.

The Klang Valley accounted for more than half of the new cases - Selangor with the highest number of infections at 8,377, while Kuala Lumpur saw 2,467 new cases.

Johor, Kedah and Kelantan each also reported more than 1,000 new infections, according to data released by Malaysia's Ministry of Health.

The country's cumulative number of cases since the start of the pandemic now stands at 1,183,110, with 9,855 deaths.

READ: As Malaysia grapples with record COVID-19 cases, authorities ramp up mass vaccination to stem the tide

COVID-19 infections have risen rapidly in Malaysia in recent weeks, with daily caseloads breaking records on 10 days in July. New daily cases have not fallen below the 10,000 mark since Jul 12.

There were 1,069 patients in the intensive care unit and 553 people who required respiratory assistance on Wednesday, out of more than 210,000 active cases.

About 12,000 recoveries were reported on Wednesday, bringing the total number who have recovered from COVID-19 to more than 960,000.

The country of 32 million people has administered more than 22 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, with more than 7.4 million people fully vaccinated as of Aug 3, said the health ministry.

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