PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has detected a small wave of Covid-19 in the country following an increase in new cases during Epidemiology Week 43 (EW 43).
Caretaker Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said there was an increase of 16.5 per cent in new Covid cases, advising the public to adopt preventive measures.
"The numbers went up from 14,525 infections in EW42 to 16,917 cases in EW 43. Nonetheless, those admitted to hospitals are only experiencing mild symptoms.
"Although hospital admission increased to 14 per cent, non-critical bed usage and Intensive Care Unit only went up by two per cent.
"In other words, we are facing a small wave but are still determining if it will become more serious. As of now, the severity is not causing concern," he told reporters today.
He also said the suspected sub-variant XBB, next to Omicron, caused the upward trend.
He stated that XBB had also been the main factor in Singapore experiencing a Covid wave which took about three to four weeks to subside.
"In Malaysia, four local cases linked to XBB were detected from the genome sequencing surveillance.
"They are all Malaysians comprising three males and one female aged between 25 and 51 from Negri Sembilan and Selangor."
Khairy said the country was still transitioning to endemicity.
"Covid-19 waves can come and go, resulting in new cases spiking or dropping, as we are experiencing now. The wave, coincidentally, has come in the election season.
"It (adopting preventive measures) is voluntary, but the ministry highly recommends that everyone wear face masks in a closed and crowded space, especially those in the high-risk category, such as elders, people with chronic diseases or having issues with their immune system."