PETALING JAYA: Most hospitals in the Klang Valley have used up all their intensive care unit (ICU) beds to treat Covid-19 cases.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there are also other hospitals around the country that have surpassed 70% usage of ICU beds.
“We are looking into how we can accommodate space to treat patients who are at severe stages (Stages Four and Five).
“As such, the Health Ministry has issued letters to hospitals and state health department directors to take action to increase beds and their ICU capacity, ” he said yesterday.
He said such efforts could include converting critical care units (CCUs) or normal wards to ICUs.
On the number of daily cases, Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry expects the number of new cases to breach 5,000 by the end of May unless Malaysians do their part and break the chain of infection.
Malaysia recorded 4,519 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday, bringing the cumulative total to 436,944.
Selangor reported the most cases at 1,722, followed by Kuala Lumpur (557) and Sarawak (479).
“In the past 24 hours, 2,719 recoveries were recorded, taking the cumulative recovery cases to 398,723. There are now 36,564 active cases, ” said Dr Noor Hisham.
He said there were 393 Covid-19 patients in ICU, with 210 of them on ventilators, and 25 deaths, bringing the death toll to 1,657.
