NEW Covid-19 cases remained high for a third successive day as the country inches closer to the 50,000 active cases mark.

With 5,298 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, Malaysia now has 48,150 active cases, 313 of them in intensive care and 127 requiring respiratory support.

Fourteen people died of the virus, taking the death toll to 760.

The Health Ministry said 4,522 patients were discharged overnight.

Malaysia has recorded 214,959 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in January 2020.

Selangor and Johor continued to log the highest number of new infections with 2,460 and 1,020, respectively, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 783.

MOH in a statement said 1,907 of Selangor’s new infections were detected during screenings.

On the people who died in the last 24 hours, MOH said 12 were in Selangor with one each in Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur.

The victims were aged between 36 and 87. Most of them had a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney problems. – January 31, 2021.