PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS) - Malaysia recorded 2,188 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday (Nov 24), beating the record of 1,882 for the highest daily total set the previous day.
There were also four new Covid-19 fatalities, taking the country's death toll to 341.
The surge, the first time that Malaysian cases breached 2,000 in a single day, was mainly due to the Teratai cluster which is linked to factory workers at several Top Glove factories in Selangor.
Active cases of those being treated in hospitals have gone up to 14,353.
Cumulatively, the number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia has reached 58,847.
Another 1,673 patients were discharged, meaning 44,153 or 75 per cent of those stricken have recovered from Covid-19 in the country.
The Health Ministry's director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that the Teratai cluster had 1,511 new infections - or 69.1 per cent of the 2,188 reported on Tuesday.
"Several medical and public health assistance teams have been mobilised to the affected areas to conduct prevention and control activities, including a large-scale Covid-19 screening process, " said Tan Sri Noor Hisham.
The government has said that 28 Top Glove factory buildings in Klang, Selangor, would be shut in phases to allow for health checks of the workers, although it did not provide a timetable.
The company, which commands a quarter of the global latex glove market, has racked up record profits this year on sky-rocketing demand for its products and protective gear, thanks to the pandemic.
The Health Ministry has reported a sharp rise in cases in the area where Top Glove factories and dormitories are located.
The Teratai cluster is the country's largest active cluster and its second largest since the start of the pandemic.
The area around the Klang factories and dormitories are under a Conditional Movement Control Order, a strict lockdown with barbed wires put up to restrict entry and exit, while health authorities carry out checks on the workers, most of whom are foreign nationals.
