by BERNAMA / pic by BERNAMA

The number of new positive COVID-19 cases in Malaysia has dropped to 85, the first time it dipped below three digits after almost one month of the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO), Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.

He said another 169 cases had also recovered and were discharged today, which means recoveries were almost double the new cases confirmed today.

He said the 169 discharged cases brought the cumulative total of recoveries from COVID-19 to 2,647, or 52.2 per cent of the total number of positive cases.

“As at noon today, 85 new cases have been reported. This brings the total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Malaysia to 5,072. Therefore, the number of active COVID-19 cases with infectivity is 2,342.

“They have been isolated and treated,” he said at a daily media briefing on COVID-19 at the Ministry of Health here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said one more fatality had been reported, bringing the death toll to 83, or 1.64 per cent of the total number of positive cases.

He said the 83rd death (Case 4,988) involved a 69-year-old Malaysian man with a history of diabetes and high blood pressure.

“He was admitted to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre on March 21 and was confirmed to have died at 6.41 am today,” he said, conveying his condolences to the family of the victim.

Dr Noor Hisham also said 56 cases were being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with 32 of them requiring ventilators.