KUALA LUMPUR – Covid-19 cases continue to soar, with the country seeing its highest number of infections yet with 28,825 recorded yesterday, eclipsing the previous high of 27,831 on Wednesday.
Yesterday’s infections took the cumulative cases to 3,194,848.
Despite the high caseload over the past 24 hours, only 0.33% (or 95 cases) have reported severe symptoms and are categorised under Categories 3, 4 and 5.
A total of nine deaths were also reported in the past day, including four brought-in-dead.
Additionally, the country recorded 18,514 recoveries yesterday.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said at present, 238 individuals are currently admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), of which 97 are confirmed positive, and the remaining are suspected of infection.
Of this, 130 require breathing support, he said in a statement today.
The overall ICU bed usage for Covid-19 cases nationwide currently stands at 29%, with Johor seeing ICU bed usage at 70%, Kuala Lumpur (64%) and Kelantan (50%) – the top three states.
With the recent surge in cases, the number of non-ICU Covid-19 admissions has also seen an increase, with 62% of bed capacity currently filled.
Selangor’s bed capacity shows the highest number at 95%, followed by Kelantan (93%), Putrajaya (92%), Perlis (90%), Sabah (82%), Johor (82%), Kuala Lumpur (72%), Perak (70%), Pahang (55%) and Pulau Pinang (50%).
According to Dr Noor Hisham, since the start of the year the number of children under the age of 12 being infected with Covid-19 has also seen an increasing trend, with 50,826 cases in the last month-and-a-half.
Of the overall figure, 152 have reported severe symptoms and are in Categories 3, 4 and 5.
Meanwhile, the Health director-general said with the latest infections, Malaysia’s R-naught (infectivity rate) now stands at 1.24, with Labuan, Sarawak and Sabah recording the highest number at 1.86, 1.52 and 1.44 respectively. – The Vibes, February 20, 2022
