KUALA LUMPUR: A one-year-old Malaysian girl has become the country's youngest known victim of Covid-19.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the patient, Case 12,432, was the 140th Covid-19 death reported.
She was sent to Tawau Hospital's Emergency and Trauma Department on Oct 1, he said.
"The baby's health deteriorated and needed breathing support. Covid-19 screening conducted on her which turned out positive.
"The girl was pronounced dead on Oct 5, 2020 at 4.25pm," he said on a live Facebook streaming today.
He said a total of four death cases were reported to the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC), and the tally stood at 141 (1.04 per cent of the cumulative cases).
He said the 138th death (Case 11,154) was a 60-year-old Malaysian man who was admitted to the Duchess of Kent Hospital, Sandakan on Sept 25.
The patient was tested positive for Covid-19 on Sept 26, 2020 and his condition deteriorated before pronounced dead on Oct 4 at 6.50am.
The 139th death (Case 12,431) was a 60-year-old Malaysian man who received treatment at Semporna Hospital's Emergency and Trauma Department on Sept 1.
He was tested positive for Covid-19 on Sept 30 and pronounced dead on Oct 4 at 5.05am.
The 141th death (Case 13,067) was a 85-year-old Malaysian man with history of hypertension and mental health illness.
The patient was found unconscious on Oct 5 at 7am and was sent to the Penang Hospital.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the patient had stopped breathing and pronounced dead on Oct 5 at 7.50am, with Covid-19 test done on him that came back positive.
There were 691 new Covid-19 cases reported as of noon today, the highest daily count yet, bringing the cumulative number to 13,504.
Dr Noor Hisham said 394 (57 per cent) of the cases were detected from Tembok cluster (Alor Star prison).
He said there were currently 2,936 active cases who had been isolated and were undergoing treatment.
A total of 688 of new cases were local transmissions (661 Malaysians and 27 foreigners) and three imported cases involving a Malaysian and two foreigners returning from India (one Malaysian detected in Kuala Lumpur), Egypt (one foreigner detected in Kuala Lumpur) and the Philippines (one foreigner detected in Selangor), he said.
A total of 87 more Covid-19 patients have recovered from the disease and were discharged on Tuesday, he said.
The overall number of patients who had fully recovered as of Tuesday's noon stood at 10,427 (77.2 per cent) of the cumulative confirmed cases of Covid-19.
"A total of 31 patients are currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), of whom eight of them are under ventilator support." Dr Noor Hisham said.