KUALA LUMPUR:The number of patients who had recovered from COVID-19 in Malaysia over the past 24 hours was recorded at 1,345, higher than the number of new positive cases of 972, according to Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said this brought the cumulative number of recovery cases to 29,579, while the number of active cases stood at 11,308.

Dr Noor Hisham said of the total 972 new cases, 967 were local transmissions, and five were import cases.

“For local transmissions, Sabah continues to have the highest number at 370, followed by Negeri Sembilan (260), Selangor (137), Labuan (63), Kuala Lumpur (20), Perak (51) and Penang (34).

“Kedah and Johor each recorded eight new cases, while Melaka and Putrajaya each had five cases, Sarawak recorded four cases and Kelantan, two cases,” he told a press conference on Malaysia’s COVID-19 updates at the Health Ministry, here today.

Meanwhile, he said there were five import cases involving two Malaysians and three foreigners arriving from the Philippines (two cases in Kuala Lumpur); Singapura (two cases in Johor) and  Nepal (one case in Selangor).

Dr Noor Hisham said eight deaths due to COVID-19 were recorded bringing the death toll to 294.

Of the eight, five were local men, one local woman, and two foreign women, mostly with the history of chronic illnesses, such as heart ailment, stroke, hypothyroidism and hypertension.

So far, 86 patients are receiving treatment in the intensive care unit with 31 requiring ventilators, he added.

-- BERNAMA