THE national tally of Covid-19 infections today breached the 17,000 mark after Malaysia reported 660 new cases in the past 24 hours, with the bulk of the cases continuing to come from Sabah.

There were also four deaths reported today, all from Sabah. Total fatalities now stand at 167.

The new daily cases bring the cumulative caseload to 17,540, while active cases rose to 5,768, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a virtual presser today. 

Only six of the 660 new Covid-19 infections reported as of noon today were imported, while the remaining 654 were local transmissions, with 429 from Sabah.

Citizens accounted for 608 of the locally transmitted cases while the remaining 46 were foreigners. 

Meanwhile, 233 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours. 

With this total recoveries now stand at 11,605.

Meanwhile, 108 patients are currently warded at the intensive care units, with 35 requiring respiratory support.

He added that active testing is being carried out in virus hotspot Sabah, which accounted for 65% of the cases today.

Kedah reported the second highest number of infections with 113 cases. The Tembok prison cluster, which has spread to the Alor Setar, Pokok Sena and Sg Petani prisons, contributed to 109 of the infections.

Over in Penang, the remand and Seberang Perai prison clusters collectively registered 17 new cases.

Noor Hisham added that the cases in the prison clusters are contained within the prison complex.

Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, on the other hand, contributed to 11.5% of the infections reported today.

A total of 68 cases were recorded in Selangor, seven in Kuala Lumpur and one in Putrajaya. – October 14, 2020.