By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, March 26: There were four new novel coronavirus (Covid-19) casualties recorded as of noon today in Malaysia.
According to Ministry of Health (MoH) director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, three of the four victims were linked to the tabligh cluster which attended a gathering at Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling last month.
“From the latest information which was reported to the national Crisis Preparedness Response Centre (CPRC), there was an increase in the number of deaths for Covid-19.
“There were four cases of fatalities. This brings the cumulative cases of death to 23 cases.
“The fatality rate is about 1.1 per cent as compared to the overall Covid-19 positive cases in Malaysia,” he said during a press conference to provide updates on the national Covid-19 situation at MoH’s headquarters in Putrajaya.
He noted the 20th death case was linked to Covid-19 positive case number 780.
Dr Noor Hisham explained that the case involved a 76-year-old man who was a participant of the tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling.
He said the victim was admitted to Sultan Ismail Petra Hospital, Kelantan on March 18 and was pronounced dead at March 25 around 4:35 pm.
Dr Noor Hisham added the 21st fatality involved a 63-year-old man who also attended the gathering at Sri Petaling.
He revealed that the victim, case 1,588, was admitted to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Kedah on March 23.
He disclosed that the victim succumbered to the coronavirus at 4am today (March 26).
Meanwhile, the 22nd Covid-19 fatality involved a 48-year-old man who had a history of chronic disease such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
He noted the victim, case 1,797, attended the gathering at Masjid Jamek in Sri Petaling and had close contact with another Covid-19 patient.
The victim was treated at Kluang Hospital and was declared dead on March 23 at 8.15pm.
The 23rd fatality involved a 62-year-old man from Kajang, case 1,840, had a history of chronic disease.
He was treated at Ipoh Hospital, Perak for Covid-19 on March 23 and was pronounced dead on March 25 12.37pm.
Dr Noor Hisham said this case was still under investigation on whether the deceased was linked to any cluster or the tabligh gathering at Sri Petaling.
Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham disclosed that as of noon today, there were 235 new Covid-19 positive cases.
From this number, 60 cases were linked to the tabligh cluster at the Masjid Jamek gathering while 175 cases are still under investigation.
On another note, Dr Noor Hisham believed that the chances of recovery from Covid-19 are high, noting that most of the patients who passed away were senior citizens and were treated at the late stage of the disease.
“There is a 85-95 per cent chances of recovery for Covid-19 patients.
“It takes time for recovery and those that have a strong immunity system can recover faster,” Dr Noor Hisham disclosed.
He also revealed that the fatality rate of Covid-19 in Malaysia stands at 1.1 per cent, which is low compared to the worldwide fatality rate of 4.5 per cent. — DayakDaily
