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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported a record 3,337 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday (Jan 14), the largest daily increase in cases since the start of the pandemic.
Selangor state reported the highest number of new infections – 1,036 – followed by Johor and Sabah, with 460 and 389 new infections respectively. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, registered 257 new cases.
Health Director General Noor Hisham Abdullah said there were a total of 15 more deaths. He added that 195 patients remain in intensive care and 86 require respiratory assistance.
READ: Anwar urges Malaysian MPs to write to the king requesting the withdrawal of the emergency proclamation
Of the latest deaths, eight were reported in Sabah, three in Selangor, two in Johor, and Negeri Sembilan and Putrajaya accounted for one each. Two of the fatalities were foreigners.
Seven new conglomerates were also identified, bringing the total number of active conglomerates in Malaysia to 276.
Malaysia has reported daily four-digit increases in COVID-19 cases for about a month, as it struggles to contain its third wave of infections.
Police detained 389 people Wednesday for defying the Movement Control Order (MCO) that went into effect before midnight, according to reports.
Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah declared a state of emergency across the country on Tuesday, a day after the prime minister announced that five states, including Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor and Sabah, and the federal territories from Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan come under an MCO.
Interstate travel across the country will also run through Jan.26 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
READ: What you need to know about the state of emergency and the hardening of COVID-19 sidewalks in Malaysia
Sarawak will also enforce an MCO in the Sibu division, in a decision made by authorities following a spike in new infections in recent days. Sarawak reported 180 new cases on Thursday, a record daily increase for the state. The MCO will run from January 16-29.
In a tweet on Thursday, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia expects to receive its first shipment of vaccines next month. One million doses are expected to arrive in the first quarter of this year, while 1.7 million, 5.8 million and 4.3 million will arrive in the second, third and fourth quarters, Khairy said.
Authorities plan to vaccinate “the highest risk groups … front-line personnel from the health and safety sectors,” he said, followed by the elderly and “other adult populations to create herd immunity.”
“If you are a healthy adult under 60 and not a front-line worker, the earliest (you can expect) to get the vaccine would be in the third quarter of the year,” he added.
As of Thursday, Malaysia has reported a total of 147,855 COVID-19 cases, of which 33,989 are currently classified as infectious. There have also been a total of 578 deaths.
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