Dr Noor Hisham speaks during a press conference at the Health Ministry in Putrajaya on Nov 12, 2021. – Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR (June 20): Malaysia has recorded a 27.9 per cent increase in the number of new Covid-19 cases for the 24th epidemiological week (ME 24), from June 12 to 18, to 14,195 cases compared with 11,096 cases reported in the previous week (ME 23).
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said however, the number of deaths in ME 24 showed a 16 per cent drop, with 21 cases compared to 25 cases in the previous week, bringing the cumulative number of fatalities due to Covid-19 to 35,732.
He said the average daily active cases for ME 24 recorded a 9.3 per cent increase, namely at 24,053 cases compared with the previous week, while the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in the country currently stood at 4,538,922.
“The average infectivity rate (Rt value) showed a 12.5 per cent increase at 1.08, compared with 0.96 reported in the previous week,” he said in a statement today.
He said the number of recovered cases in ME 24 also dropped by 2.6 per cent (10,806 cases to 10,524 cases) compared with ME 23, bringing the cumulative recoveries to 4,476,829.
Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said there was no significant change in the number of Covid-19 patients admission to hospitals and Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centres (PKRCs) per 100,000 population for ME 24 compared to the previous ME.
“However, the number of Covid-19 patient admission to public hospitals per 100,000 population has increased by four per cent. The number of cases requiring breathing assistance also increased by 33 per cent.
“Overall, the bed occupancy rate at PKRCs dropped by one per cent and non-critical bed occupancy increased by one per cent while the use of intensive care unit (ICU) beds rose by two per cent,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said Covid-19 positive cases monitored by the Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) nationwide showed an increase with patient arrivals at CAC increasing by 22.1 per cent and the number of new Covid-19 cases undergoing home monitoring up by 37.6 per cent.
The number of Covid-19 cases referred by CAC to PKRC or hospitals has increased by 11.4 per cent, he said. – Bernama