KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A total of 15 people have died of the COVID-19 in Malaysia as of Tuesday, and 106 newly confirmed cases were reported, taking the total to 1,624, according to the Health Ministry.
The latest fatality is a 70-year-old man with chronic disease, Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah told a press briefing.
Noor Hisham said of the new cases, at least 43 were traced to a large-scale religious event held in the capital of Kuala Lumpur from late February to early March, which authorities said resulted in a spike in the number of cases in the country along with several deaths.
Investigations into other potential clusters are underway, said Noor Hisham.
Out of the total cases as of Tuesday, 183 have been cured and discharged from hospital, while 64 are currently being held in intensive care and 27 of those are in need of assisted breathing.
Meanwhile, Malaysian medical experts will hold a video conference with their Chinese counterparts later this week to discuss how to efficiently combat the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.
In a post on social media, Hishammuddin said doctors from 26 hospitals across Malaysia would be holding a teleconference with Chinese experts to discuss best practices in fighting the outbreak.
