GEORGE TOWN – Penangites have been urged to maintain their vigilance in the midst of a spike in Covid-19 cases that were up to 426 yesterday – an increase of 100% compared to the daily averages over the past month.
With the state’s daily averages standing at around 200 to 250 cases previously, a total of 426 was looked upon as a new high at the start of the lunar year.
State health committee chairman Dr Norlela Ariffin urged the people to maintain their watchful stance as Covid-19 remains a pandemic and the threat is real despite the state having among the top vaccination rates in the country.
Sharing the latest data, Norlela said that out of 426 cases, 11 were foreigners.
The cases came from the Kubang Semang and the Bukit Minyak Industrial Park clusters after screening those with symptoms, close contact screenings, self-testing, workplace screenings and immigration screenings.
The Balik Pulau district continues to register the most cases followed by the sub-districts of Kepala Batas, Bukit Mertajam, Nibong Tebal and the George Town district.
The Delta variant continues to be the dominant one followed by Beta and Omicron, which was imported from haj pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia.
According to Covid-19 official portal, most of the 2,185 active cases are home quarantine where only 4.6% are hospitalised, while one is warded at the intensive care unit.
This means that the majority of cases are in Categories 1 and 2, which have mild symptoms, but Norlela said that it is best to squash the infections altogether rather than dealing with it due to its rapid mutations.
Meanwhile, doctors continue to encourage people to undergo self-testing, especially those who frequent crowded areas or are constantly in public. – The Vibes, February 2, 2022
