Covid-19: Admissions down by 6.5% from previous week, says Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of Covid-19 patients admitted to health facilities per 100,000 residents dropped 6.5% in the sixth Epidemiological Week 2023 (ME 6/2023) of Feb 5-11 from the previous week.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic) said the number of admissions to public hospitals per 100,000 population in ME 6/2023 from ME 5/2023 for all categories of infection recorded no change.

"The percentage of bed occupancy in Covid-19 facilities also recorded no change while Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed occupancy decreased by 2%," he said in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 14).

He said positive cases monitored by Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) across the country showed a decrease, but the number of cases referred to hospitals by the CAC increased by 130%.

Up to Saturday (Feb 11), cumulative cases in the country since the start of the pandemic stood at 5,039,326, he said, while recoveries were at 4,993,160.

Active average cases totalled 9,490; there were 36,951 cumulative deaths, and 7,171 cumulative clusters with five still active.

Dr Noor Hisham said week-on-week, the number of new cases in ME 6/2023 decreased 19.4% (from 1,913 to 1,542), recoveries rose 63.1% (1,270 to 2,071), and the number of deaths increased 166.7% (three to eight).

Meanwhile, the infectivity rate value (Rt) in ME 6/2023 was 0.94, he said.

Dr Noor Hisham also said the results of surveillance at sentinel locations throughout the country until ME 6/2023 found that 2.8% or 22 cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) were found to be positive for Covid-19; while 1.9% of severe acute respiratory infections (Sari) tested positive. – Bernama