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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported on Friday (October 2) its largest daily increase in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic first struck the country, with 287 new infections.
All new cases are local broadcasts. Of these, 129 are from Kedah, 113 are from Sabah and 31 are from Selangor. There were also two new clusters in Seri Anggerik and Seri Setia.
Malaysia has reported a steady increase in cases following an increase in travelers to and from Sabah for state elections.
Twenty of the infections reported on Friday had been recently in Sabah, the Health Ministry said in its update. These cases then traveled back to various states such as Selangor, Terengganu, Perak and Negeri Sembilan.
This brings the cumulative number of travel-related cases to Sabah to 139 as of September 20.
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Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government has come under fire for failing to impose controls such as mandatory screening for travelers from Sabah before elections, and for allowing people to interrupt a 14-day home quarantine order if they test negative for the coronavirus.
More than 700 police officers are currently in quarantine after they were flown to Sabah to help with operations during state elections.
In Penang, 600 school students were ordered to undergo tests after a teacher tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning from accompanying her husband, a politician, on the Sabah election campaign.
Muhyiddin’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but health officials have defended themselves from not announcing control measures earlier, saying authorities did not want to dissuade Sabah voters from returning home to cast their votes. .
However, the director general of the Ministry of Health, Noor Hisham Abdullah, said on Friday that the increase in Sabah could have been mitigated by following the guidelines established by the ministry to minimize physical contact.
“The problem now is non-compliance with standard operating procedures at all levels,” Dr. Noor Hisham told a news conference, referring to the ministry’s guidelines.
“We are not blaming (anyone), but we are remembering … we hope we all learn this lesson so that we do not repeat this mistake again.”
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Dr. Noor Hisham said earlier Thursday that the increase in cases could be seen as “the beginning of a new wave” and urged the public to continue to practice social distancing and avoid leaving their homes unless necessary.
From the early stages of the pandemic, the Malaysian Ministry of Health prescribed guidelines to minimize the spread of the virus, which included wearing face masks, maintaining a distance of at least 1 meter between people, and washing hands regularly with soap.
The hashtags #PoliticiansCauseVirus and #MinisterCluster were trending on Twitter in Malaysia on Friday after it was reported that ministers and political figures were attending public events upon their return from the campaign in the state.
At least two politicians tested positive in the election campaign, while travel-related cases to Sabah have been reported in all 13 Malaysian states.
Malaysia has reported 11,771 coronavirus cases so far, including 136 deaths. The economy has contracted for the first time since the 2009 global financial crisis.
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