Record new COVID-19 cases in Malaysia for second consecutive day

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases for a second consecutive day on Saturday (Jul 10) with 9,353 new infections.

More than half of the new cases were from the Klang Valley area with 4,277 in Selangor and 1,398 in Kuala Lumpur. Neighbouring states Negeri Sembilan and Pahang registered 638 and 247 respectively.

There were also 835 cases in Melaka, 399 in Johor as well as 352 in Sarawak.

Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah also reported 87 more fatalities, aged 26 to 97. The national death toll now stands at 6,067. 

Eight of the victims were classified as "brought in dead" as they died before they could be taken to hospital. 

A total of 959 patients are currently in the intensive care unit, unchanged from the record number reported on Friday. Of these, 451 require respiratory support. 

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Malaysia’s previous new daily case record of 9,180 was on Friday. 

The health ministry said earlier this week that the increase in new cases in the Klang Valley was due to targeted COVID-19 screening at emergency movement control order (EMCO) areas and factories.

Many individuals in the Klang Valley area also voluntarily stepped forward for testing, said Dr Noor Hisham.

Malaysia entered its third nationwide lockdown on Jun 1, shortly after it breached the 9,000 mark for new cases for the first time on May 29.

As of Saturday, Malaysia has reported a total of 827,191 COVID-19 cases, of which 84,021 are currently active or infectious. 

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