KUALA LUMPUR: Covid-19 intensive care numbers and ventilator utilisation rates have resumed to an upward trend in several states, mainly Kelantan, Penang, Sarawak and Terengganu.
However, according to the health ministry's CovidNow portal, the overall number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised in intensive care units (ICU) and on ventilators nationwide have been on a decline.
The country recorded the highest hospitalisation rate (seven-day average) on Aug 17 with 15,735 patients, which dipped to 12,643 on Sept 16 (11,933 active hospitalisation was reported on Sept 16).
A record 1,573 Covid-19 patients in ICU (seven-day average) was reported on Aug 12; 1,473 on Sept 1 and 1,285 on Sept 16.
Covid-19 patients requiring ventilator support (seven-day average) was at its peak on Aug 9 with 921 patients after which the number dropped to 827 on Sept 1 and 710 on Sept 16.
As of Sept 16, the country's overall utilisation of Covid-19 beds stood at 70.1 per cent, ICU beds at 76.6 per cent and patients on ventilators at 51.5 per cent (includes utilisation for non-Covid cases to reflect the overall state of the public healthcare system).
ICU bed utilisation in several states — Kelantan, Penang, Sarawak, Terengganu, Johor and Sabah - however, showed an increasing trend based on the ministry's seven-day average of Covid-19 patients in ICUs.
Kelantan had a seven-day average of 52 patients in ICU on May 28. The figure dropped to 28 on July 14 and began to see a drastic increase by about four-fold to 75 on Sept 1 and 96 on Sept 16.
Similar trends were observed in Penang where it logged a seven-day average of 38 patients in ICU on June 15, which declined to 27 on June 27 and began to spike to 67 on Sept 1 and 72 on Sept 16.
In Sarawak, ICU admissions (seven-day average) was at its peak at 106 on June 17. The figure subsequently dropped to 32 on Aug 6, but resumed an upward trend logging 69 ICU patients on Sept 1 and 94 on Sept 16.
Terengganu reported a seven-day average of 21 patients in ICU on June 9, which dropped to seven on June 28. The figure then peaked at 34 on Aug 12; 29 on Sept 1 and 30 on Sept 16.
Johor and Sabah are starting to show signs of an increasing trend.
Johor's figure (seven-day average) went from 142 ICU admissions on Aug 12 to 107 on Sept 1; 103 on Sept 8 and 110 on Sept 16.
Sabah registered a seven-day average of 100 patients in ICU on June 15 after which it dipped to 55 on July 11, but increased to 169 on Sept 1, 126 on Sept 14 and 133 on Sept 16.
Covid-19 patients requiring ventilator support also spiked in Kelantan, Sarawak, Terengganu, Johor and Melaka based on the ministry' seven-day average data.
In Kelantan, Covid-19 patients on ventilators stood at 30 (seven-day average) on May 27 and declined to 11 on July 14 but began to increase to 42 on Sept 1 and 52 on Sept 16.
Patients on ventilators in Sarawak peaked at 38 (seven-day average) on July 3, after which it dipped to nine on Aug 2 but saw an increase to 21 on Sept 1 and 30 on Sept 16.
The seven-day average of patients using ventilators in Terengganu went from 12 on June 8 to only one on July 6, but peaked at 27 on Aug 11 and had 17 on Aug 25, 20 on Sept 9 and 22 on Sept 16.
In Johor, the average number of patients using ventilators stood at 95 on June 5; 68 on July 5; 88 on Sept 1 and 87 on Sept 16; while in Melaka the number went from 34 on July 20 to 28 on July 31; 22 on Sept 6; and 24 on Sept 14.