MALAYSIA recorded 15 new Covid-19 infections as of noon today, with one death, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

In a statement, the director-general of health said a 72-year-old Malaysian man, with chronic high blood pressure and a history of stroke, died at 12.51am on Friday at the emergency room of the Enche’ Besar Hajjah Khalsom Hospital in Johor. 

Noor Hisham said the man was a resident at an old folks’ home and started showing symptoms of fever and coughing on July 10.

His death – the first since July 11 – brings the toll to 123.

Noor Hisham said seven patients have been discharged, bringing the number of recoveries to 8,553 or 97.4% of all cases.  

He said the new cases bring the cumulative infections nationwide to 8,779 cases.

“There are currently 103 active cases or patients who are isolated and receiving treatment,” he said.

Of the new cases, he said, four are imported, involving two Malaysians and two foreigners.

He said one foreigner arrived on business while another is married to a Malaysian. The imported cases are from the United Kingdom (two cases), India and Libya.

Of the 11 local transmissions, he said, eight cases involved Malaysians – five from Sarawak, and one each from Selangor, Sabah and Johor.

The five cases in Sarawak involve two Malaysians who were detected through screenings at immigration checkpoints, one from self-testing, one from a return-to-work screening and another by health officials due to close contact with a known Covid-19 patient.

In Selangor, the local transmission was of a patient detected at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre prior to surgery.

In Sabah, another patient tested positive at Queen Elizabeth 2 Hospital.

The Johor case was the 123rd death reported today, classified as “brought in dead”.

As for the three foreigners involved in local transmissions, each were from one of the three new clusters announced today in Sepang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and in Kuching, Sarawak.

There are currently two patients being treated in intensive care units, with one requiring respiratory support. – July 19, 2020.