By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, March 28: Malaysia has recorded one new fatality for novel coronavirus (Covid-19) as of noon time today.
According to Ministry of Health (MoH) director general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the latest casualty has added to the cumulative number of death in Malaysia due to Covid-19 to 27.
“The latest casualty involved a 61-year-old man who has a history of chronic illness such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
“He was treated at Tangkak Hospital on March 24 before being transferred to Muar Hospital on March 25.
“He was confirmed to have passed away on March 28 at 10:50 am.
“He was the 2,162th case of Covid-19,” he told a press conference at MoH’s headquarters in Putrajaya.
At the same time, Dr Noor Hisham disclosed that there was a total of 159 new positive cases being reported until noon time.
He also noted that there were 73 cases being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) and out of that total, 54 were in need of breathing aid.
Dr Noor Hisham also shared that there were 61 cases which have recovered and allowed to be discharged.
Apart from that, Dr Noor Hisham said there were 5,084 people from the tabligh gathering cluster who had yet to be screened for Covid-19.
He disclosed that MoH had screened 17,584 cases while the sample taken was 12,500.
Those that are positive were 1,207 cases, while 6,648 cases turned out negative while 4,645 cases were pending confirmation.
He hoped MoH personnel will be able to locate the 5,084 people from the tabligh cluster as soon as possible.
On another note, Dr Noor Hisham said MoH was making preparation for the worst in the event that there was a high volume in Covid-19 cases.
He estimated that there could be a surge in Covid-19 cases in Malaysia going into the middle of next month, especially from those returning from overseas trips.
Thus, Dr Noor Hisham said MoH had prepared an additional 5,290 beds to be used for Covid-19 at the MoH’s training institute.
“For example, today, we are seeing about 150 or even 200 cases. But if the surge is 1,000 cases a day, then we need to look for beds. If we need, the beds are ready. We are preparing for the worst,” he said. —DayakDaily
