KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia saw an increase of 422 Covid-19 cases today, bringing the total number to 5,713 from yesterday’s 5,291.
The cumulative infections since the pandemic began now stand at 2,492,343.
According to a statement, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there were 5,865 recoveries, with the total discharged numbering 2,396,244.
Dr Noor Hisham said of the 5,713 new cases today, 93 (1.6%) are in Categories 3, 4 and 5, whereas 5,620 (98.4%) are of the less severe Categories 1 and 2.
He reported that 555 patients are under intensive care, while 280 require breathing assistance.
A total of 32 cases were imported.
He also said the infectivity rate (R-naught) for the nation is below 1.0 – an R-naught of 0.94.
Topping the list is Putrajaya with 1.07, Negri Sembilan (1.02), Perlis (1.01), Kuala Lumpur (1.01), Melaka (1.01), Selangor (1.0), and the rest of the states and federal territories below 1.0.
The country has seen a total of 5,793 clusters, including five new clusters today.
A total of 5,426 clusters have ended, leaving 367 active.
Four of the new clusters today are from workplaces involving Kuala Selangor, Selangor; Cheras, Kuala Lumpur; Batu Pahat, Johor; and Lipis, Pahang; while one is related to a community in Seremban, Negri Sembilan.
In the meantime, Dr Noor Hisham said an ongoing study by four medical institutes detected 1,047 new cases involving Delta (B.1.617.2) variants of concern (VOC) from October 29 up till today.
They are Institute of Health and Community Medicine, UKM Medical Molecular Biology, Integrative Pharmacogenomics Institute, and Malaysia Genome Institute.
Dr Noor Hisham said this brings the cumulative number of VOC and variants of interest (VOI) cases in the country to 3,692.
“Of the total cases, 3,672 are VOC and 20 cases are VOI.
“Overall, for VOC there are 3,432 Delta variant cases, 225 Beta variant cases, and 14 Alpha variant cases to date.
“As for VOI, there are 13 Theta variant cases, four Kappa variant cases, and three Eta variant cases.”
He said the three states that recorded the highest number of Delta variant cases during the same period are Sarawak with 790, followed by Penang (56) and Johor (55). – The Vibes, November 4, 2021
