ACTIVE Covid-19 cases soared to a new high of 133,703 after Malaysia continued to report more new infections than recoveries. There were also 93 deaths today.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that as of noon today, Malaysia posted 12,366 fresh infections to 7,567 recoveries. 

This will be the 25th day that the country has logged more daily new infections than recoveries. 

Noor Hisham said 99.3% of the new cases reported today were between Category 1 and 3, while only 0.7% of the cases were from a combination of Category 4 and 5. 

Elaborating on the breakdown, Noor Hisham said that 7,327 cases were under Category 1 (asymptomatic), 4,861 cases under Category 2 (mild symptoms), 93 cases under Category 3 (pneumonia), 33 cases under Category 4 (pneumonia and need oxygen support) and 52 cases under Category 5 (those in critical condition and in need of breathing assistance through ventilation). 

The number of patients both in the intensive care unit (ICU) and those requiring respiratory support increased today to 924 and 448 respectively. 

Meanwhile, for the first time after eight days, Malaysia reported deaths in double digits at 93 today, taking the toll to 7,241.

The last time it happened was on July 11, when 91 deaths were recorded. 

Of the 93 fatalities, two were foreigners while the rest were locals.

Thirty-one of the deaths were reported in Selangor while Johor reported 16 fatalities, making them the only two states to report deaths in the double-digits. 

Other states reporting deaths were Malacca with nine, Kedah (8), Pahang (seven), Penang, Negri Sembilan, Perak (five each), Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Sarawak (two each) and Terengganu (one). 

Ten of these deaths were pronounced dead-on-arrival (DOA), with five cases of such coming from Kedah, three from Malacca, and one each from Selangor and Sabah. 

Eighty-one of the deceased today had underlying medical conditions. – July 20, 2021.