MALAYSIA recorded 130 new Covid-19 cases today, bringing the total to 1,030 said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

In a statement, the Health Ministry director-general said 48 of the new cases were linked to the Sri Petaling mosque tabligh cluster.

The statement said 26 Covid-19 patients are being treated in the intensive care unit and are in need of breathing assistance.

Noor Hisham said another 12 patients have been discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 87

Malaysia recorded its first two Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday. One of them was a man who attended the tabligh event. He died in Johor Baru’s Sultanah Aminah Hospital intensive care unit.

He had developed a fever on March 5 and was admitted to Permai Hospital on March 12.

The other patient was a 60-year-old man who died at Sarawak General Hospital. The patient had a history of diabetes and hypertension.

As of today, 624 people who attended the tabligh have tested positive for the virus.

About 16,000 people had attended the three-day event on February 27, of which 14,500 were locals.

Earlier today, Noor Hisham warned Malaysians not to conceal information on their travel history and close contacts to aid the fight against Covid-19.

He said there have been cases of coronavirus patients withholding information.

“We’ve had a few incidents this week where patients concealed their contacts and/or symptoms.

“Travel history and close-contact information, for example, of those linked to the tabligh gathering at Sri Petaling Mosque was also not revealed (initially),” he said in a Facebook post today.

Such critical information was disclosed only after treatment was completed, he said.

“By then, the safety of our healthcare workers and facilities has been jeopardised. It is a crime to hide information.

“I appeal to the public and patients to be truthful and not hide information and risk our lives and facilities.”

Worldwide, there have been 242,300 infections with a death toll of 9,857.

Putrajaya has imposed a two-week movement-control order to keep people indoors and halt the spread of the disease. – March 20, 2020.