Deputy Premier Dr Sim Kui Hian shows his winding-up speech file before the DUN sitting on May 25, 2022. – Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (May 25): The number of Covid-19 cases in the first quarter of 2022 in Sarawak saw a decrease of 61 per cent compared to the last four months of 2021, said Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
The Deputy Premier of Sarawak said from Jan 1 to April 28, a total of 52,880 cases were reported compared to 135,742 reported cases in the last quarter of 2021.
“Similarly, there is a reduction of case fatality rate of 0.22 per cent or 144 direct Covid-19 deaths in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the last four months of 2021 which had a case fatality rate of 0.80 per cent or 1,089 direct Covid-19 deaths,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today.
Dr Sim, who is Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister, said as at April 28, a total of 305,180 Covid-19 cases and 1,729 direct Covid-19 deaths have been reported in the state, since the first reported case on March 13, 2020.
He said statistics have shown a decreasing trend in new Covid-19 cases, Covid-19 death cases and beds utilisation rate in the state’s hospitals.
As an example, he pointed out that the usage of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed and non-ICU beds showed a decreasing trend from 36 per cent and 40 per cent in Epid Week 13 (March 27 to April 2) to 10 per cent and 26 per cent in Epid Week 16 (April 17 to 23) respectively.
“These statistics show that the Covid-19 pandemic situation in Sarawak is getting better,” he said.
On the state’s Covid-19 vaccination status, Dr Sim said 83 per cent of the total population or 2,343,667 Sarawakians had been fully vaccinated with two doses as of May 20.
“In terms of age groups, 91.1 per cent of the population aged 18 years and above or 1,881,213 people and 93.9 per cent of the population aged 12 to 17 years or 271,465 people have been fully vaccinated.
“Meanwhile, only 66.8 per cent of the population aged 5 to 11 years or 190,989 people have been fully vaccinated. Our target is to fully immunise 80 per cent of this group by the end of June 2022,” he said.
He also said that Sarawak has administered the first booster dose to 89.5 per cent of the eligible population or 1,643,621 people.
“The programme to administer the second booster dose has recently commenced.
“As at May 19, 5,515 eligible people have received the second booster dose,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the issue of rabies, Dr Sim said the State Health Department had received 66,153 cases of animal bites between July 1, 2017 and April 28, 2022.
“Out of this number, 23,918 high risk cases have received vaccination. A total of 48 human rabies cases were recorded for the period, with seven cases reported in 2022 alone.
“Out of the total 48 human rabies cases, there were five survivors where three were cases reported in 2022,” he said.
He said Sarawak can be declared rabies-free once again after the state remains free of animal and human rabies for at least two years.
He also said that the World Health Organization has the target of eliminating rabies globally by the year 2030.