KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 — The Teratai cluster in the Klang Valley has not spread to the community from factory workers, but only infected family members and close contacts, Dr Noor Hisham said today.
“In the Teratai cluster, we have not found any community infection. The infection is among the workers as well as the close contacts of the workers,” the Health director-general said during his daily press conference on Malaysia’s Covid-19 cases.
Dr Noor Hisham said there are 11,215 workers in this cluster that spans Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, out of which 154 live, presumably in their own homes and not in workers’ dormitories, in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur and have infected their family members.
“So, if I’m not mistaken, 71 family members infected, but outside the community of the Teratai cluster, we have not seen any infection among the community.”
Dr Noor Hisham also said that the Health Ministry has advised companies to screen their foreign workers for Covid-19.
As of today, the Teratai cluster has 4,063 positive Covid-19 cases. A total of 6,506 individuals have been tested, 2,270 tested negative, while 173 of them are still waiting for their results. This translates to an extremely high 62.5 per cent positivity rate, which means that there are likely many more infected people who have yet to be tested.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has only slightly increased testing on the Teratai cluster by 729 people, as 5,777 people were screened as of yesterday to 6,506 as of today. Top Glove Corporation, the world’s largest glove manufacturer that is linked to the Teratai cluster, has 11,215 factory workers in Meru, Klang.
Today, Senior Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said 27 factories of Top Glove in Meru have been closed, while one more will be closed soon, to allow screening and quarantine of workers. An Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) has been imposed on Top Glove workers’ hostels and nearby streets in Meru since November 17.
However, Top Glove executive chairman and founder Lim Wee Chai told a press conference today that the Teratai cluster did not just affect his company, but also factories operated by other companies.
National Covid-19 Highlights
Malaysia reported 970 positive Covid-19 cases today, bringing the total number of cases to 59,817 cases.
Four deaths were also reported today, bringing the total fatalities to 345.
The breakdown of the 965 locally transmitted cases is as below:
- Sabah: 293 cases
- Selangor: 115 cases
- Perak: 80 cases
- Kuala Lumpur : 44 cases
- Negeri Sembilan: 318 cases
- Johor: 30 cases
- Penang: 14 cases
- Kedah: 24 cases
- Kelantan: eight cases
- Labuan: 37 cases
- Sarawak: two cases
- Pahang: two cases
- Melaka: one case
- Terengganu: one case
- Putrajaya: one case
MOH also reported five new clusters today. Details of these clusters are as below:
- D’Bajaru cluster: detected in Lahad Datu, Sabah during a high-risk community screening.
- Gangsa cluster: detected in Kuala Langat, Selangor during a workplace screening.
- Batu Tujuh cluster: detected in Batu Pahat and Johor Baru, Johor, in a severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) patient.
- Tanjung Bunga cluster: detected in Johor Baru in a SARI patient.
- Kerengge cluster: detected in Marang, Terengganu during a symptomatic screening.
Currently, there are 12,971 active Covid-19 cases, including 110 patients in the intensive care unit, with 47 of them on ventilator support.
