KOTA KINABALU: Sabah registered 651 new Covid-19 cases on Monday (July 19), with the number breaching the 600 mark three days in a row.

       Sabah had recorded 666 new cases on Sunday (July 18) – the highest number reported in the state so far – and 647 on Saturday (July 17).

       State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, in a Twitter post, said the new cases on Monday were mainly attributed to prison clusters at 25.83%, and other clusters at 57.14%.

       "The Kapayan prison contributed 146 cases in Kota Kinabalu, and Tawau district prison recorded 26 new cases.

       "Another 86 cases are from two clusters in the Keningau district, and the Agathis cluster in Kalabakan registered 39 new cases," he tweeted on Monday.

       Masidi had described Sunday as "Prison Day" when more than half of the 666 cases came from the two prison clusters.

       However, he also stated that 99% of Sunday's positive cases did not require hospitalisation and only needed treatment at the nearest Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre.