THE Covid-19 death toll in Malaysia now stands at eight, on a day when 153 new cases were reported, spiking the total number to 1,183.

Barely hours after Sarawak announced two deaths in Kuching – making them victims number five and six, Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham announced two more.

The seventh victim is a 57-year-old local man who had travelled to Vietnam and had close contact with an infected person from the tabligh cluster.

He was admitted on March 18 and died at 3.22pm today in Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

The eighth case involved a 69-year-old Malaysian man from the tabligh cluster.

He was admitted to the Tumpat Hospital on March 16 and transferred to Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, in Kota Baru two days later. He died at 4pm today.

Earlier, the Sarawak Disaster management committee announced the deaths of a 79-year-old woman and her 40-year-old daughter. Both were from Kuching.

The mother died at a private medical centre at 2am on March 18 while her daughter died at the Sarawak General Hospital today at 1pm.

Another family member who had tested positive for Covid-19 is still warded and is on life support at the Sarawak General Hospital.

The committee said there was a three-day delay in reporting the elder woman’s death as the private hospital where she was warded had to wait for test results.

Just before that, Noor Hisham in a press conference announced the death of the nation’s fourth victim – a 50-year-old man from the tabligh cluster who died at 1.30am today.

He was admitted to Malacca Hospital on March 12 after experiencing symptoms of severe acute respiratory failure.

Yesterday evening, the third victim who succumbed to Covid-19 was a 58-year-old man who had also attended the tabligh programme. He died in Tawau.

About 14,500 locals had attended the tabligh in a mosque in Sri Petaling on February 27, and authorities are urging those who have not undergone screening to come forward. – March 21, 2020.