ALOR STAR: Kedahans have been advised to mask up when in crowded places as the number of Covid-19 cases have gone up by 141.4 per cent or 169 cases during the first week of the month.
However, state Health and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman said the public should not be overly alarmed since the majority of the patients showed mild symptoms.
"In the epidemiological update for the 14th week of 2023 (April 2 to 8), Kedah has recorded 169 Covid-19 cases, a jump of 141.4 per cent as compared to the previous week.
"Majority of the cases were detected through symptomatic screenings and the majority of patients showed mild symptoms," he said in a statement.
Dr Mohd Hayati said in the EW14, the percentage of normal beds and intensive care treatment allocated for Covid-19 cases was below 10 per cent.
He added that the state also reported an education cluster involving the hostel of a learning institution in Kulim district in EW14.
"The cluster involved 47 positive cases, all students are Malaysians. The cases in the cluster showed mild symptoms and they have been placed under quarantine at the hostel.
"None of the cases have been referred to the hospital ward and the virus transmission in the cluster is under control and being monitored by the Kulim Health Clinic," he said.
Despite the spike in infection cases, Dr Mohd Hayati advised the public to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
He added that Malaysia was still in the Endemic Transition Phase following effective prevention and public health measures.
"The people are advised to continue complying to the 3W Practices (Wash, Wear, Warn) and Avoiding 3S (Crowded, Congested and Talking too close to each other).
"The public are advised to put on masks while visiting crowded places such as Ramdan bazaars, market and hypermarket. Putting up masks at mosques and suraus are recommended," he said.
The public is also advised to continue practicing TRIIS (Test, Report, Isolate, Inform, Seek) and carrying out Covid-19 self-test should they develop relevant symptoms.
"We wish to advise eligible individuals to get Covid-19 premier vaccination and booster. For children aged between five and 17-years-old, they may get their first booster shot.
"Individuals aged 18 and above may also get their second booster shot to reduce the risk of virus transmission and suffering from severe symptoms and fatality," he said.
On Friday, the New Straits Times reported that health experts had warned of a continuous spike in Covid-19 cases after the Hari Raya celebration, following the increase in new infections in the country recently.
Universiti Putra Malaysia's Virologist Associate Professor Dr Chee Hui Yee was reported as saying that social (human) movement and family gatherings were among the major factors that would contribute to the spike in cases after Raya.
She had said variants such as the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 could be more transmissible during the period as the wearing of masks was not mandatory any more.
Dr Chee added that the country also saw an increase of Covid-19 cases due to the reopening of school sessions, large crowds in Ramadan bazaars as well as the Qing Ming festival.