The Health Ministry confirmed six more deaths from Covid-19 today, bringing Malaysia’s total fatalities to 43, said Dr Noor Hisham Abullah.

The Health director-general said there were 140 new cases of infection, driving up the national patient count to 2,766

Meanwhile, he said, 58 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of those who have recovered to 537.

Noor Hisham said currently there are also 94 patients in the intensive care unit with 60 patients on respirators.

Of the six deaths, one is an Indonesian national, the first foreigner to die of the coronavirus in Malaysia.

Noor Hisham said the Indonesian man, aged 40, had received treatment at the Sarawak General Hospital since March 20 until his death this afternoon.

The five other deaths involved a 48-year-old Malaysian woman who had a history of high blood pressure.

Two Malaysian men, both aged 60 and both with a history of high blood pressure and diabetes, also died.

One of them had a history of travel to Saudi Arabia and died in his home, while the other died in hospital in Johor.

The fifth death is of an 81-year-old Malaysian man with a history of heart disease.

The last death is of a 73-year Malaysian man who also had heart disease as well as diabetes.

Noor Hisham also said even though the number of new infections had increased, they appeared to be on a plateau in the last few days, while the number of those recovering and being discharged is also showing an increase.

Since March 28, the number of new infections daily has been 159 (March 28), 150 (March 29), 156 (March 30) and 140 (today).

He also said the ministry has detected two age groups that have the highest number of positive Covid-19 cases.

These are patients in the age bracket of 26 to 30, and 56 to 60.

“Those in the younger age group could be students or returnees from abroad, and had gone out in defiance of the movement-control order. 

“As for the older age group, they could be heads of the households tasked with going out and thus getting infected,” Noor Hisham told the daily press conference on Covid-19 in Putrajaya today when asked about the two age groups. – March 31, 2020.