Covid-19 Watch: 4,071 new cases, nationwide ICU bed usage at 62.5pc

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded 4,071 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday (Aug 18), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,749,000 infections since the pandemic began.

The Health Ministry's CovidNow portal reported that 4,069 of Thursday's new Covid-19 cases were local transmissions while two imported infections were logged.

There were 3,289 recoveries on Thursday. This brings the cumulative number of recoveries in Malaysia to 4,670,400 since the pandemic began.

The portal also reported that there were 42,476 active cases currently in the country, with 40,826, or 96.1%, observing home quarantine and 27 individuals, or 0.1%, admitted to low-risk quarantine and treatment centres.

The CovidNow portal reported that 1,623 patients, or 3.82% 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 45 of these patients requiring ventilation support.

The ICU utilisation rate nationwide stood at 62.5%, with seven states or localities recording ICU usage rates of more than 60%.

Kedah had the highest ICU utilisation rate at 79.5%, followed by Johor (75.9%), Selangor (72.4%), Putrajaya (70%), Kuala Lumpur (69.6%), Sabah (65.9%) and Perak (65.6%).

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

This brings the death toll to 36,124.