PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry is closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation in Singapore following an increase in the number of infections in the island state, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
“The ministry is tracking the trajectory of the recent wave of a two-fold increase in Covid-19 cases reported by Singapore,” he said in an X post yesterday.
He said it was highlighted that the combined proportion of sub-variants KP.1 and KP.2 currently accounts for over two-thirds of Covid-19 cases in Singapore.
Dzulkefly said Malaysia reported 1,230 cases between May 12 and May 18, an increase of 14.8% from the 1,071 cases reported in the week prior.
“No new deaths from Covid-19 have been reported since April 25,” he said.
Singapore reported 25,000 Covid-19 cases in the week of May 5 to May 11, compared with 13,700 cases in the previous week.
Average daily Covid-19 hospitalisations in Singapore saw an increase from 181 to 250.
The KP.1 and KP.2 Covid-19 strains accounted for more than two-thirds of the current caseload in Singapore.
The KP.2 strain was classified as a variant under monitoring by the World Health Organisation earlier this month.
It has also been identified as a dominant strain in the United States and has also been detected in countries like China, Thailand, India, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said the occupancy rate of non-critical beds for Covid-19 saw a slight increase from 0.08% to 0.10%, while the intensive care unit bed occupancy rate declined from 0.17% to 0.04%.
“The ministry is continuously monitoring the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia and globally.
“Following the recent wave in Singapore, the ministry has heightened preparedness measures to address the potential increase in cases in Malaysia,” it said.
The variant currently circulating in Malaysia remains the Omicron variant and its subvariants, the ministry said.
