KUALA LUMPUR: The number of Covid-19 patients admitted to health facilities per 100,000 residents has dropped 6.5 per cent in the sixth Epidemiological Week 2023 (ME 6/2023) from Feb 5 to 11 compared to the previous week.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the number of admissions of Covid-19 patients to public hospitals per 100,000 population in ME 6/2023 from ME 5/2023 for category one to five patients recorded no change.
"The percentage of bed occupancy in Covid-19 facilities in ME 6/2023 compared to ME 5/2023 for non-critical beds recorded no change while Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds decreased by two per cent," he said in a statement today.
He said Covid-19 positive cases monitored by the Covid-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) across the country showed a decrease, but the number of Covid-19 cases referred to hospitals by the CAC increased by 130 per cent.
Apart from this, from Jan 25, 2020 (ME 4/2020) till Feb 11, 2023 (ME 6/2023), the cumulative new Covid-19 cases was 5,039,326, cumulative cured cases (4,993,160), average active cases (9,490), cumulative deaths (36,951), while cumulative clusters totalled 7,171 with five active clusters.
Dr Noor Hisham said the number of new cases in ME 6/2023 decreased 19.4 per cent (1,913 cases to 1,542 cases), number of cured cases rose 63.1 per cent (1,270 cases to 2,071 cases) whereas the number of deaths also increased 166.7 per cent (three cases to eight cases).
Meanwhile, the infectivity rate value (Rt) in ME 6/2023 was 0.94, he said.
Dr Noor Hisham also said the results of the surveillance of Covid-19 at sentinel locations throughout the country until ME 6/2023 found that 22 cases of influenza-like disease (ILI) were detected positive for Covid-19 with a positive rate of 2.8 per cent and 1.9 per cent of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) tested positive for Covid-19.
The Health Ministry will continue to monitor the development of infections in the country and abroad through information obtained from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the authorities of regional countries, in addition to ensuring that appropriate prevention and control measures are implemented continuously, he added.– BERNAMA