Health Ministry upbeat as daily case numbers dip below 2,000

PUTRAJAYA: The improvement in Covid-19 daily case figures in Malaysia is a positive development, says the Health Ministry.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic) said infections in the country have declined steadily after the implementation of the Emergency Ordinance on Jan 11.

"This is the first time since the Ordinance was enforced that Malaysia has gone back to reporting fewer than 2,000 daily cases.

"This is a positive development and hopefully the situation will continue to improve," Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 25).

Malaysia recorded 1,924 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday.

The last time the country's daily cases went below 2,000 was on Jan 4, when 1,741 new infections were reported.

This was before the second movement control order (MCO 2.0) was imposed on Jan 13 in several states.

Selangor reported 666 cases, which represents 34.6% of the country's new infections, on Thursday.

"Out of Selangor's total, 527 cases or 79.1% were uncovered from clusters and contact tracing activities," said Dr Noor Hisham.

Johor is the second highest with 257 cases, followed by Sarawak with 219.

Dr Noor Hisham said 105 cases (5.5%) were from clusters linked to prisons and detention centres.

There were 12 new deaths, nine of which occurred in Selangor, two in Sarawak and one in Penang.

All the deceased are Malaysians aged from 52 to 91, and most had comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.

Two of the casualties – a 63-year-old man at Hospital Kuala Lumpur and a 77-year-old man at Balik Pulau Hospital in Penang – were classified as "dead on arrival".

Six imported cases were detected in the country on Thursday, involving travellers arriving from India, Indonesia, Egypt and Qatar.

The rest (1,918 cases) were local transmissions, comprising 1,543 (80.4%) Malaysians and 375 (19.6%) non-citizens.

With 3,752 more patients discharged, the number of active cases in the country stands at 28,837.

Of the total, 205 patients are in intensive care units, with 91 on ventilator support.