Covid-19 cases spiking but still under control

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 12,757 Covid-19 cases were reported during the 49th Epidemiological Week (ME 49/2023) from Dec 3-9 compared with 6,796 cases the previous week, says Health director-general Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan.

He said that although there has been an increase in new cases, the overall situation in Malaysia was still under control and not a burden on existing healthcare facilities.

He said the majority of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia involved mild symptoms and did not require hospital treatment.

“The rate of Covid-19 admissions (including patients suspected of Covid-19) to healthcare facilities for the use of non-critical beds and beds in the intensive care unit (ICU) each rose to 1.4% in ME 49/2023 compared with the previous week.

“The rate of Covid-19 patients requiring respiratory aid also rose to 0.5% and the overall fatality rate from Jan 25 to Dec 9 was 0.72%,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Muhammad Radzi said the rising trend of Covid-19 cases was also reported globally, including in several neighbouring countries and, in Malaysia, the rise coincides with the year-end trend seen in other countries, BK reported.

He said that during the ME 49/2023 period, a total of 26 new Omicron variants were reported, comprising 21 Variants of Concern (VOCs) and five cases of Variants of Interest (VOIs).

“So far, no new variants have been detected in Malaysia. The variants still circulating in Malaysia are the Omicron variant with subvariants XBB.1.16, XBB.1.5 and EG.5.

“Although this variant is known to have a high rate of infectivity, it does not cause severe infections,” he said.

Dr Muhammad Radzi also advised the public to continue taking preventive measures including maintaining a high level of personal hygiene, wearing face masks if symptomatic and getting Covid-19 vaccine booster jabs.