Malaysia reports record 1,884 new COVID-19 cases following spike in workplace cluster infections

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported a record 1,884 new COVID-19 cases on Monday (Nov 23), following a spike in infections linked to workplace clusters in the Klang Valley.

This is the highest daily number of new cases since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, said Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Malaysia has recorded a total of 56,659 COVID-19 infections to date, of which 13,842 are active cases.

Two more fatalities - both in Sabah - were also recorded on Monday, taking the national death toll to 337.

READ: In Malaysia's Sabah, COVID-19 pandemic rages as migrants flee testing

READ: Malaysia to shut some Top Glove factories in phases amid COVID-19 outbreak

The health ministry attributed the sharp increase in cases to infections from workplace clusters in the Klang Valley.

Selangor accounted for the majority of new infections with 1,203 cases. A total of 1,060 of these new cases were linked to the Teratai workplace cluster.

The other two workplace clusters were identified as Damanlela cluster with 105 cases, and Bintang cluster with 75 infections.  

The state of Sabah reported 289 new cases while 196 infections were recorded in Kuala Lumpur.

The other cases are in Kedah with 36 infections and Negeri Sembilan with 41 cases.

There are also two imported cases, said Dr Noor Hisham. One of them was in Johor and the other was in Kuala Lumpur.

There are currently 115 patients in the intensive care unit, with 48 receiving respiratory support, said Dr Noor Hisham.

READ: All travellers to Singapore from Malaysia, Japan to serve COVID-19 stay-home notice at dedicated facilities

READ: Implementing Singapore, Malaysia cross-border travel schemes was ‘right decision’: Johor Chief Minister

SOME TOP GLOVE FACTORIES TO CLOSE

A total of 28 Top Glove factories will be closed in stages after 1,889 workers tested positive for COVID-19. Senior Minister of Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Monday. 

So far, 5,794 employees have been screened.

Top Glove is the world's largest latex-glove maker and has seen record high profits this year as demand for medical gloves and protective gear skyrocketed due to the pandemic.

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