KUALA LUMPUR: The Tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling here, from Feb 27 to March 1, remains the largest Covid-19 cluster in Malaysia.
A total of 1,701 cases have been linked to the group so far, according to the Health Ministry’s infographics, released on its Facebook page at noon today.
The data, recorded on Thursday afternoon, also states that a Sri Petaling sub-cluster, which cropped up in Rembau, Negri Sembilan, gave rise to 29 cases.
Meanwhile, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 416 foreigners account for nearly 10 per cent of Malaysia’s Covid-19 patient tally.
Of the 67 deaths recorded so far, two are foreigners -- a Pakistani and an Indian national.
Migrants continue to be an issue for health authorities trying to screen those at risk of Covid-19 due to either direct exposure to index patients, or subsequent generations of infected.
Up to 16,000 people are believed to have attended the three-day Tabligh gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque from Feb 27. Attendees comprised thousands of foreigners, including Muslim clerics from South Korea (which was a hot zone for the virus at the time).
However, many Tabligh members have yet to come forward for screening or testing due to fears of being detained for immigration offences.
The second-largest cluster in Malaysia is a religious gathering in Kuching, which gave rise to 110 cases.
A wedding in Bangi also had 95 cases traced back to it; while a cluster traced to an “individual with a travel history to Italy” had 41 cases.
It was previously reported that a woman from Kuching, Sarawak, tested positive for Covid-19 when she returned from her trip to Italy.
Among the first people to be infected by this asymptomatic patient were her family members and relatives.