THE number of active Covid-19 cases in Malaysia soared to 87,841 today, the highest since the onset of the pandemic, as the country continues to report more new infections than recoveries.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the figure rose to a record number today after Malaysia reported 9,105 new cases against 5,194 recoveries, a difference of almost 4,000. 

It is the 16th straight day that the new infections in Malaysia outnumber recoveries. 

The previous high of 86,628 for active cases was reported on June 6.

Meanwhile, Noor Hisham also said that a record number of 961 patients are currently being treated in intensive care units nationwide, two more than the previous high of 959.

The number of patients requiring respiratory support also increased from 451 to 455 today.

Besides this, 91 people died within the past 24 hours, a slight increase on the previous day, taking the death toll to 6,158.

Noor Hisham said five of the victims were foreigners while the rest were locals.  

There were 10 dead-on-arrival cases, where two were foreigners.  

Three states that reported fatalities in double figures were Selangor (34 deaths), Kuala Lumpur (21) and Negri Sembilan (12).

Other states that reported deaths were Malacca (eight), Johor (six), Pahang (three), Kelantan (two), Sarawak, Penang, Perak, Kedah and Labuan (one each). 

There were two 92-year-olds who succumbed to the disease, making them the oldest victims for the day. The first was a man, with underlying chronic lung condition, who died in Kuantan, while the second, a woman who had high-blood pressure, died in Negri Sembilan. 

The youngest victim, a 24-year-old man who had chronic lung condition and tuberculosis, died in Selangor. – July 11, 2021.