DAILY Covid-19 cases ballooned in Malaysia today with the nation recording 4,498 fresh infections in the past 24 hours, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The last time Malaysia reported over 4,000 cases was on February 4, when 4,571 new infections were recorded.

The director-general of health said that Selangor reported the bulk of the new infections with 1,424 cases, followed by Sarawak with 750 cases and Kuala Lumpur at third place with 436 cases.

Selangor also topped overall cases by state with the new infections bringing its tally to 140,270.

Sabah, which recorded 153 cases today stood second with 58,633 overall cases, and Johor taking the third spot with 47,318 cases.

The total caseload in Malaysia is currently at 432,425.

Noor Hisham said 3,449 people recovered and were allowed to leave hospital, taking the cumulative number of recoveries to 396,004.

Active cases have increased to 34,789, with 372 people in intensive care, 211 of which need respiratory support.

Besides this, 22 people died today – including two foreign nationals – taking the death toll to 1,632.

Fifteen victims were male, including the two foreigners.

Six deaths were reported in Sarawak, three each in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan, two each in Johor and Perak, and one each in Sabah, Kedah and Perlis.

Two of three victims in Selangor and the sole victim in Sabah died before they were brought to hospital. – May 7, 2021.