Covid-19 Watch: 2,437 new cases, nationwide ICU bed usage at 63.8pc

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded 2,437 new Covid-19 cases on Monday (Aug 16), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,737,984 infections since the pandemic began.

The Health Ministry's CovidNow portal reported that 2,431 of Monday's new Covid-19 cases were local transmissions while six imported infections were logged.

Recoveries outpaced new infections, with 3,658 patients recovering on Monday. This brings the cumulative number of recoveries in Malaysia to 4,659,688 since the pandemic began.

The portal also reported that there were 42,203 active cases currently in the country, with 40,525, or 96%, observing home quarantine and 31 individuals, or 0.1%, admitted to low-risk quarantine and treatment centres.

The CovidNow portal reported that 1,647 patients, or 3.9% 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 81, with 50 of these patients requiring ventilation support.

The ICU utilisation rate nationwide stood at 63.8%, with nine states or localities recording ICU usage rates of more than 60%.

Kedah had the highest ICU utilisation rate at 84.6%, followed by Selangor (81.4%), Johor (71.4%), Sabah (68.1%), Negri Sembilan (65.3%), Terengganu (64.3%), Kelantan (63.9%), Perak (62.4%) and Kuala Lumpur (60.9%).

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

This brings the death toll to 36,093.