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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported 691 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday (Oct 6), its biggest daily jump since the start of the pandemic.
Four additional deaths were confirmed, bringing the total deaths to 141, the Health Ministry said in its daily update. A one-year-old girl who died Monday in Semporna, Sabah was one of the reported deaths.
The total number of coronavirus infections in the country stood at 13,504.
Three of the 691 new cases were imported, while the rest were transmitted locally.
More than half of the new cases were reported in Kedah. Of the 397 infections reported in the state, 394 are part of the Tembok group of prisons that has been isolated.
“This means that they are separated from the general public,” the Health Ministry said.
READ: ‘No full lockdown yet,’ says Prime Minister Muhyiddin as COVID-19 cases continue to rise
The next largest group of new cases, comprising 219 infections, was reported in the eastern state of Sabah, where several groups have been linked to a recent election.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised speech on Tuesday that he does not deny that state polls contributed to the increase in cases, but added that the elections “had to take place 60 days after the dissolution of the state assembly.”
The prime minister was placed in a 14-day home quarantine on Monday after a minister who attended a meeting he presided over tested positive for COVID-19.
Despite the sharp increase in cases, Muhyiddin said the government has not considered re-enforcing a national lockdown.
Earlier Tuesday, Chief Minister and Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced a travel ban from Sabah to Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and the Labuan Federal Territory from October 12 to 25.
The Health Ministry said on Tuesday that 87 more patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 10,427.
The country now has 2,936 active cases, 31 of which are treated in the ICU, including eight receiving respiratory support.
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