THE Covid-19 death toll crossed the 500 mark today, after seven deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. 

Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press conference today that Sabah reported three deaths while Johor reported two such cases. 

The director-general of health said Selangor and Pahang each reported one fatality. 

He said the youngest victim was a 45-year-old man while the oldest was an 83-year old woman. 

Today’s fatalities bring the cumulative death toll to 501. 

Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said 1,741 new cases were recorded today as the country continues to grapple with the pandemic. 

He said the fresh cases bring the national caseload to 120,818, while active cases stood at 22,089. 

He said Selangor reported 687 cases, followed by Sabah with 303. Johor saw the third highest number of new cases at 295. 

Noor Hisham said only eight of today’s cases were imported. 

Prisons and detention centre clusters, on the other hand, contributed 32 cases. 

He said health authorities also discovered five new clusters of infection. 

On recoveries, Noor Hisham said 1,010 people were discharged from hospitals in the past 24 hours. 

With this, he said the total number of recoveries now stands at 98,228.

Meanwhile, 122 patients are currently treated in intensive care, with 53 requiring respiratory support. – January 4, 2021.