Covid-19 Watch: 4,334 new cases, nationwide ICU bed usage at 58.5pc

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded 4,334 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday (Aug 13), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,732,502 infections since the pandemic began.

The Health Ministry's CovidNow portal reported that 4,328 of Saturday's new Covid-19 cases were local transmissions while six imported infections were logged.

Recoveries outpaced new infections, with 5,082 patients recovering on Saturday. This brings the cumulative number of recoveries in Malaysia to 4,651,805 since the pandemic began.

The portal also reported that there were 44,617 active cases currently in the country, with 42,926, or 96.2%, observing home quarantine and 28 individuals, or 0.1%, admitted to low-risk quarantine and treatment centres.

The CovidNow portal reported that 1,663 patients, or 3.73% of the total, were currently admitted to hospital for treatment. The number of Covid-19 patients warded at intensive care units (ICU) throughout the country stands at 68, with 44 of these patients requiring ventilation support.

The ICU utilisation rate nationwide stood at 58.5%, with seven states or localities recording ICU usage rates of more than 60%.

Kedah had the highest ICU utilisation rate at 82.1%, followed by Selangor (77.2%), Johor (65.2%), Negri Sembilan (63.3%), Kuala Lumpur (63%), Sabah (62.3%) and Perak (61.3%).

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry's GitHub data repository reported that 10 Covid-19 deaths were reported on Saturday with one classified as Brought in Dead (BID).

This brings the death toll to 36,080.