A total of 4,963 cases of COVID-19 were recorded for the 17th Epidemiological Week (ME 17/2023) which was from April 23 to April 29, an increase of three percent compared to the previous week.
Director-General of Health, Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, said the number of admissions of COVID-19 patients to hospital per 100,000 population increased to 5.8 percent in ME 17 compared to 4.8 percent in the previous week.
However, the situation of COVID-19 infection in this country is under control and health services and hospital capacity are not affected.
He said, the majority of patients admitted to hospital are high-risk groups such as individuals with comorbidities and the elderly, but the increase does not burden health services and hospitals.
“Category 1 and 2 patients increased from 1.4 to 1.8 per 100,000 population while category 3, 4, and 5 patients increased from 1.3 to 2 percent per 100,000 population.
“As for the percentage of beds filled in the COVID-19 facility in ME 17, non-critical beds, increased by three percent; Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds increased by three percent while COVID-19 patients requiring ventilators (ABP) increased by 0.2 percent.
Dr Muhammad Radzi said, until ME 17 there are 33 clusters of COVID-19 still active.
He said, one cluster was reported in ME 17 which is a 75 percent decrease compared to four clusters in the previous ME.
“The cluster in ME 17 is a cluster of risk groups that occur in elderly care centers while four clusters were reported in ME 16 involving three education clusters and one workplace cluster,” he said.
The Ministry of Health expects a slight increase in the number of COVID-19 cases to occur following public gatherings during Hari Raya and Hari Wesak celebrations.
“The school session has also started this week and in order to control contagion in educational institutions, students, teachers and staff are advised to regularly wash their hands with sanitiser and wear face masks, especially for those with symptoms or when they are in closed, narrow and crowded places. Make a self-assessment of your health level and do not attend educational institutions if you have symptoms,” he said.
