No significant rise in Covid-19 cases in Johor, says state health committee chairman

JOHOR BARU: There has not been a significant increase in Covid-19 cases statewide, says Johor health and unity committee chairman Ling Tian Soon.

Ling said that only 41 Covid-19 cases were reported throughout last week while the number of hospital beds occupied for the disease is still low.

"At the moment, less than 5% of hospital beds are being used to treat Covid-19 patients and there is no significant rise in the number of cases statewide.

"However, we encourage the public to continue adhering to the existing standard operating procedures (SOP), especially high risk groups such as those with chronic illness.

"This includes wearing face masks when being in crowded public places," he said.

He said this at a press conference after officiating the launch of Regency Specialist Hospital's International Patient Lounge here.

On Sunday (Dec 3), Health director-general Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said in a statement that there had been a 57.3% increase in Covid-19 cases with the majority of them (48%) comprising those aged between 20 and 40.

He said that the 57.3% constituted 3,626 cases, a hike from the 2,305 cases reported in ME46/2023 (Nov 12-18).

Meanwhile, on Saturday (Dec 2), Singapore's Health Ministry advised the public to remain vigilant amid the doubling of local Covid-19 cases and a rise in respiratory illnesses in temperate regions.

It said that in the week of Nov 19 to 25, the estimated number of local Covid-19 infections doubled to 22,094 from 10,726 in the previous week.

In preparation for floods, Ling said that the Johor Health Department has reminded all government health facilities to be fully prepared with an action plan in the case of a flood.

"We have also reminded them to put machines and important assets at a higher place to avoid it from getting wet in the event of a flood," he said.