Malaysia records highest daily upsurge in COVID-19 cases as more infections traced to Saba
03 October, 2020
Malaysia on Friday (Oct 2) reported its highest daily upsurge in COVID-19 cases because the pandemic was initially recorded in the united states, with 287 new infections.
All the new cases are local transmissions. Of those, 129 are from Kedah, 113 are from Sabah and 31 are from Selangor. There have been also two new clusters at Seri Anggerik and Seri Setia.
Malaysia has reported a reliable climb in cases after an increase in travellers to and from Sabah for the state elections.
Twenty of the infections reported on Friday had been recently to Sabah, the health ministry said in its update. These cases then travelled back to various states such as for example Selangor, Terengganu, Perak and Negeri Sembilan.
This takes the cumulative number of cases involving happen to be Sabah to 139 since Sep 20.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's government has been criticised for failing to impose controls such as mandatory screening for travellers from Sabah ahead of the election, and for allowing people to cut short a 14-day home quarantine order if indeed they tested negative for the coronavirus.
A lot more than 700 police personnel are currently undergoing quarantine once they were flown to Sabah to aid in operations through the state elections.
In Penang, 600 school students were ordered to endure testing after a teacher tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from accompanying her husband, a politician, on the Sabah campaign trail.
Muhyiddin's office didn't immediately respond to a obtain comment, but health officials have defended not announcing control measures sooner, saying authorities didn't want to discourage Sabah voters from returning home to cast their ballots.
However, health ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said on Friday that the spike in Sabah could have been mitigated by compliance with guidelines set by the ministry on minimising physical contact.
"The issue now could be the non-compliance to standard operating procedures at every level," Dr Noor Hisham said at a news conference, referring to the ministry's guidelines.
"We aren't blaming (anyone), but we are reminding ... we hope that all folks learn this lesson so we do not repeat this mistake again."
Dr Noor Hisham previously said on Thursday that the increase in cases could be seen as “the start of a new wave” and urged the public to keep practicing social distancing and steer clear of leaving their homes unless necessary.
From the first stages of the pandemic, Malaysia's health ministry approved guidelines to minimise the spread of the virus, including wearing face masks, maintaining a distance of at least 1m between people and washing hands regularly with soap.
The hashtags #PoliticiansCauseVirus and #MinisterCluster were trending on Twitter in Malaysia on Friday after ministers and political figures were reported attending public events after their return from campaigning in the state.
At least two politicians tested positive on the campaign trail, while cases associated with travel to Sabah have already been recorded in every 13 Malaysian states.
Malaysia has reported 11,771 coronavirus cases up to now, including 136 deaths. The economy has contracted for the very first time since the 2009 global financial meltdown.
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