Recent festive celebrations in Malaysia sparked 60 COVID-19 clusters with 3,511 cases: Health ministry

KUALA LUMPUR: Recent festive celebrations in Malaysia sparked 60 COVID-19 clusters involving 3,511 cases, the health ministry said on Thursday (Jun 10).

From May 13 to Jun 10, authorities said 58 clusters linked to Hari Raya Puasa and two clusters linked to Hari Gawai were detected. A total of 13,023 people were tested for COVID-19, with 27 per cent of them testing positive.

Sabah accounted for the highest number of clusters with 11, with Sarawak and Kedah respectively recording eight and seven clusters each.

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Perak and Kelantan accounted for six clusters each, with five each in Johor and Pahang. Melaka recorded three clusters, which two each in Labuan, Selangor and Penang.

The remaining three clusters linked to festive celebrations were in Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu.

These clusters resulted in the death of 20 people with 11 patients still in the intensive care unit as of Thursday, health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said in his daily report.

The number of patients in the intensive care unit in Malaysia have hit record numbers for 17 consecutive days, from May 25 to Jun 10. The number breached the 900 mark on Jun 7 and hit 911 on Jun 10.

Dr Noor Hisham said the increase in infections and fatalities associated with the festive celebration clusters was “serious and worrying” as it occurred within a short amount of time.

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“It is the responsibility of all to protect those who are vulnerable, especially elderly parents in our hometowns, by not exposing them to the coronavirus,” he added.

Dr Noor Hisham also said that Malaysia should follow the example of neighbouring countries that have succeeded in controlling the pandemic situation.

“They have shown that with the cooperation among all parties and the adherence to stipulated standard operating procedures, a normal way of life can be possible.”

As of Thursday, Malaysia has reported a total of 639,562 COVID-19 cases, of which 79,848 are still active or infectious. 

Since the start of the pandemic, the country has seen a total of 2,422 clusters. A total of 745 of these are still active.

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