Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia (2021)

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia during 2021.

Timeline

January

Date Cases Recoveries Deaths Current cases Sources New Total New Total New Total Active ICU Ventilators 1 2,068 115,078 2,230 91,171 3 474 23,433 126 54 2 2,295 117,373 3,321 94,492 9 483 22,398 125 51 3 1,704 119,077 2,726 97,218 11 494 21,365 124 51 4 1,741 120,818 1,010 98,228 7 501 22,089 122 53 5 2,207 122,845 1,221 99,449 8 509 22,887 123 52 6 2,593 125,438 1,129 100,578 4 513 24,437 141 67 7 3,027 128,465 2,145 102,273 8 521 25,221 142 63 8 2,641 131,108 2,708 105,431 16 537 25,140 170 82 9 2,451 133,559 1,401 106,832 5 542 26,185 177 82 10 2,433 135,992 1,277 108,109 9 551 27,332 171 76 11 2,232 138,224 1,006 109,115 4 555 28,554 187 87 12 3,309 141,533 1,469 110,584 4 559 30,390 190 83 13 2,985 144,518 994 111,578 4 563 32,377 197 79 14 3,337 147,855 1,710 113,288 15 578 33,989 195 86 15 3,211 151,066 1,939 115,227 8 586 35,253 204 87 16 4,029 155,095 2,148 117,375 8 594 37,126 205 79 17 3,339 158,434 2,676 120,051 7 601 37,782 240 93 18 3,306 161,740 2,293 122,344 4 605 38,791 226 94 19 3,631 165,371 2,944 125,288 14 619 39,464 238 96 20 4,008 169,379 2,374 127,662 11 630 41,087 246 96 21 3,170 172,549 2,490 130,152 12 642 41,755 260 103 22 3,631 176,180 2,554 132,706 18 660 42,814 251 102 23 4,275 180,455 4,313 137,019 7 667 42,769 260 103 24 3,346 183,801 4,427 141,446 11 678 41,677 265 102 25 3,048 186,849 3,638 145,084 11 689 41,076 261 101 26 3,585 190,434 4,076 149,160 11 700 40,574 280 111 27 3,680 194,114 1,858 151,018 7 707 42,389 314 122 28 4,094 198,208 3,281 154,299 10 717 43,192 303 118 29 5,725 203,933 3,423 157,722 16 733 45,478 301 115 30 5,728 209,661 3,805 161,527 13 746 47,388 319 120 31 5,298 214,959 4,522 166,049 14 760 48,150 313 127

On 3 January 2021, Sabah's Deputy Chief Minister II Jeffrey Kitingan tested positive for COVID-19 and underwent treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the state capital Kota Kinabalu.

By 6 January 2021, the director-general had reported there were 252 active clusters left of the total 561. He also confirmed the closure of the Kobena, Mengketil and UD SS2 clusters. That same day, the number of recoveries reached 100,578. On 7 January, a record number of 3,027 new cases were reported with Johor the highest of the day, with 1,103 new cases reported. On January 8, Malaysia recorded 16 new confirmed COVID-19 deaths, the highest number ever.

By 10 January 2021, the director-general had confirmed the identification of five new clusters: the Cyber Construction Site and Texmile clusters in Selangor, the Alo Durian and Wakaf Lanas clusters in Kelantan, and the Jalan Sibuga cluster in Sandakan, Sabah. That same day, Mustapa Mohamed, a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (with responsibility for the economy) tested positive for COVID-19.

By 17 January 2021, the death toll had reached the 600 mark while the total number of recoveries had reached 120,051.

By 25 January, the Health Ministry reported nine new clusters: the Jalan Sebelas cluster in Hulu Langat, Selangor, the Bukit Emas cluster in Negri Sembilan, the Tapak Bina Sri Petaling cluster, the Ladang Segama and Jalan Segama clusters in Lahad Datu, Sabah, the Tapak Bina Flora cluster in the federal territory of Putrajaya, the Jalan Tengar cluster in Johor Baru, and the Tembok Taiping cluster in Perak.

February

Date Cases Recoveries Deaths Current cases Sources New Total New Total New Total Active ICU Ventilators 1 4,214 219,173 4,280 170,329 10 770 48,074 316 137 2 3,455 222,628 3,661 173,990 21 791 47,847 327 145 3 4,284 226,912 3,804 177,794 18 809 48,309 307 141 4 4,571 231,483 4,092 181,886 17 826 48,771 308 135 5 3,391 234,874 3,392 185,278 19 845 48,751 310 134 6 3,847 238,721 1,692 186,970 12 857 50,894 305 139 7 3,731 242,452 3,369 190,339 15 872 51,241 292 140 8 3,100 245,552 2,340 192,679 24 896 51,977 282 134 9 2,764 248,316 3,887 196,566 13 909 50,841 289 127 10 3,288 251,604 1,929 198,495 14 923 52,186 285 131 11 3,384 254,988 3,774 202,269 13 936 51,783 259 122 12 3,318 258,306 3,505 205,774 17 953 51,597 258 119 13 3,499 261,805 3,515 209,289 5 958 51,558 263 118 14 2,464 264,269 4,525 213,814 7 965 49,490 260 111 15 2,176 266,445 4,521 218,335 10 975 47,135 260 112 16 2,720 269,195 5,718 224,053 8 983 44,129 253 118 17 2,998 272,163 5,709 229,762 22 1,005 41,396 231 115 18 2,712 274,875 5,320 235,082 25 1,030 38,763 227 103 19 2,936 277,811 4,889 239,971 13 1,043 37,797 220 104 20 2,461 280,272 4,782 244,753 8 1,051 34,468 207 91 21 3,297 283,569 4,456 249,202 5 1,056 33,304 209 91 22 2,192 285,671 3,414 252,623 6 1,062 32,076 199 91 23 2,468 288,228 4,055 256,678 14 1,076 30,475 196 92 24 3,545 291,774 3,331 260,009 12 1,088 30,677 189 88 25 1,924 293,698 3,752 263,761 12 1,100 28,837 205 91 26 2,253 295,951 3,085 266,846 11 1,111 27,994 201 93 27 2,364 298,315 3,320 270,166 10 1,121 27,028 190 99 28 2,437 300,752 3,251 273,417 9 1,130 26,205 202 93

On 4 February, the director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah identified ten new clusters in Selangor (3), Johor (3), Sarawak (1), Negri Sembilan (1), and Pahang (2), bringing the total number of clusters to 421.

By 7 February, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob confirmed that 312,363 foreign workers had been screened for COVID-19 since 1 December 2020. Of those screened, 6,093 tested positive for COVID-19 while 306,530 tested negative. This screening involved 13,533 employers and 1,268 clinics.

On 16 February, the director-general identified six new clusters in Sarawak: Jalan Geronggang and Sungai Merah in Sibu; a primary school in Kidurong Dua, Biru; the Univista cluster in Samarahan; Kampung Sungai Maong in Kuching, and the Gelong cluster in Taman Sri Gelong, Kapit. That same day, the director-general said that allowing low-risk COVID-19 patients to self-isolate at home had helped to reduce the strain on hospitals. As a result, bed occupancy for COVID-19 patients at hospitals, quarantine centers, and intensive care units had dropped by 47%, 37% and 55% respectively.

On 17 February, the director-general identified 13 new clusters: five in Selangor, four in Johor, and one each in Terengganu, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak. Ten of these clusters are work-related clusters.

On 25 February, the director-general announced the closure of 18 clusters after no cases were linked to them for 18 days. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia had experienced a total of 1,111 clusters, of which 612 have ended.

March

Date Cases Recoveries Deaths Current cases Sources New Total New Total New Total Active ICU Ventilators 1 1,828 302,580 2,486 275,903 5 1,135 25,542 198 90 2 1,555 304,135 2,528 278,431 6 1,141 24,563 204 96 3 1,745 305,880 2,276 280,707 7 1,148 24,025 195 95 4 2,063 307,943 2,922 283,629 5 1,153 23,161 193 99 5 2,154 310,097 3,257 286,904 6 1,159 22,034 184 87 6 1,680 311,777 2,548 289,452 7 1,166 21,159 172 84 7 1,683 313,460 2,506 291,958 3 1,169 20,333 174 81 8 1,529 314,989 2,076 294,034 8 1,177 19,778 160 79 9 1,280 316,629 2,345 296,379 9 1,186 18,704 155 76 10 1,448 317,717 2,137 298,516 5 1,191 18,010 151 72 11 1,647 319,364 2,104 300,620 9 1,200 17,544 147 61 12 1,575 320,939 2,042 302,662 3 1,203 17,074 147 67 13 1,470 322,409 1,830 304,492 3 1,206 16,711 162 70 14 1,354 323,763 1,782 306,724 4 1,210 16,279 158 71 15 1,208 324,971 1,973 308,247 3 1,213 15,511 155 70 16 1,063 326,034 1,365 309,612 5 1,218 15,204 152 68 17 1,219 327,253 1,346 310,958 2 1,220 15,075 154 64 18 1,213 328,466 1,503 312,461 3 1,223 14,782 155 54 19 1,576 330,042 1,996 314,457 2 1,225 14,360 151 57 20 1,671 331,713 1,585 316,042 4 1,229 14,442 151 64 21 1,327 333,040 1,247 317,289 4 1,233 14,518 154 65 22 1,116 334,156 1,495 318,784 5 1,238 14,134 156 60 23 1,384 335,540 1,058 319,842 6 1,244 14,454 148 62 24 1,268 336,808 1,083 320,925 2 1,246 14,637 161 73 25 1,360 338,168 1,491 322,416 2 1,248 14,504 157 72 26 1,275 339,443 1,509 323,925 1 1,249 14,269 161 70 27 1,199 340,642 1,257 325,182 2 1,251 14,209 167 72 28 1,302 341,944 1,127 326,309 4 1,255 14,380 169 76 29 941 342,885 1,097 327,406 5 1,260 14,219 166 73 30 1,133 344,018 1,148 328,554 5 1,265 14,199 161 76 31 1,482 345,500 1,070 329,624 7 1,272 14,604 164 81

On 1 March, the director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that seven new clusters were detected in Johor (three), Selangor (two), Kelantan (one), and Kuala Lumpur (one), bringing the total number of active clusters to 488.

On 6 March, the director-general Noor Hisham confirmed Malaysia's first two cases resulting from the B.1525 variant through overseas travel from the United Arab Emirates.

On 12 March, the director-general confirmed there were 440 active clusters in the country.

On 18 March, the director-general confirmed that over 99 cases (roughly 11% of cases reported that day) were linked to prisons and detention clusters.

On 25 March, the director-general confirmed that there have been 41 clusters originating in schools and universities since January 2021, resulting in 2,268 positive cases. 1,058 of these cases originated in institutions of higher learning, 631 cases in secondary schools, 419 in preschools and primary schools, and 120 in others.

April

Date Cases Recoveries Deaths Current cases Sources New Total New Total New Total Active ICU Ventilators 1 1,178 346,678 1,377 331,001 6 1,278 14,399 163 81 2 1,294 347,972 1,442 332,443 5 1,283 14,246 168 78 3 1,638 349,610 1,449 333,892 3 1,286 14,432 167 81 4 1,349 350,959 1,270 335,162 2 1,288 14,509 186 94 5 1,070 352,029 1,294 336,456 7 1,295 14,278 180 89 6 1,300 353,329 1,412 337,868 5 1,300 14,161 189 88 7 1,139 354,468 1,199 339,067 4 1,304 14,907 194 86 8 1,285 355,753 1,175 340,242 4 1,308 14,203 186 81 9 1,854 357,607 1,247 341,489 5 1,313 14,805 169 79 10 1,510 359,117 1,248 342,737 8 1,321 15,059 194 81 11 1,739 360,856 1,216 343,953 8 1,329 15,574 183 81 12 1,317 362,173 1,052 345,005 4 1,333 15,835 188 84 13 1,767 363,940 1,290 346,295 12 1,345 16,300 199 82 14 1,889 365,829 1,485 347,780 8 1,353 16,696 204 79 15 2,148 367,977 1,259 349,039 10 1,363 17,575 212 82 16 2,551 370,528 1,524 350,563 2 1,365 18,600 227 91 17 2,331 372,859 1,832 352,395 5 1,370 19,094 225 92 18 2,195 375,054 1,427 352,822 8 1,378 19,854 219 90 19 2,078 377,132 1,402 355,224 8 1,386 20,522 228 93 20 2,341 379,473 1,592 356,816 3 1,389 21,268 249 95 21 2,340 381,813 1,910 358,726 11 1,400 21,687 248 101 22 2,875 384,688 2,541 361,267 7 1,407 22,014 248 115 23 2,847 387,535 2,341 363,608 8 1,415 22,512 260 125 24 2,717 390,252 2,292 365,900 11 1,426 22,926 272 124 25 2,690 392,942 1,853 367,753 10 1,436 23,753 283 121 26 2,776 395,718 1,803 369,556 13 1,449 24,713 300 133 27 2,733 398,451 2,019 371,575 13 1,462 25,414 294 138 28 3,142 401,593 1,822 373,397 15 1,477 26,719 306 151 29 3,332 404,925 1,943 375,340 15 1,492 28,093 309 147 30 3,788 408,713 2,640 377,980 14 1,506 29,277 328 161

On 2 April, the director general Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that there were 363 active clusters throughout Malaysia. He also confirmed that nine clusters (Seberang Prai Prison, Damai Pelangi, Teknologi Berendam, Pasar Borong KL 2, Jalan Jasmine, Jalan Empat, Jalan Industri Kidamai, Subang Tiga and Persiaran Alam) have ended. In addition, ten new clusters were identified in Banjaran Gading, Simpang Empat, Industri Bukit Angkat, Jalan Taat, Jalan Bukit Nanas, Jalan Padang, Wakaf Chagak, Kalindukan, Permatang Pasir and Pekan Batu.

On 7 April, the director-general reported ten new clusters in Johor, Selangor, Penang and Sarawak, bringing the number of active clusters to 354.

On 13 April, a total of 1,767 new cases were reported, bringing the number of active cases to 16,300. That day, Sarawak reported 607 new cases, the highest reported in a single day in that state.