The Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) in a statement today (Nov 23) informed that during the 46th Epidemiology Week (ME 46/2023) which is from 12 November 2023 to 18 November 2023, a total of 2,305 cases of COVID-19 have been reported.
The percentage of COVID-19 cases reported in ME 46/2023 increased by 28.0 percent, compared to 1,801 cases reported in ME 45/2023 (November 5, 2023 to November 11, 2023).
The admission rate of COVID-19 patients (including patients with suspected COVID-19) to health facilities decreased to 2.0 per 100,000 population in ME 46/2023 compared to ME 45/2023. In ME 46/2023, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed occupancy was 0.4 percent, while the percentage of non-critical COVID-19 bed occupancy was 0.7 percent. Until now, the COVID-19 situation is still under control in Malaysia.
In ME 46/2023, a total of 21 new Omicron variants were reported consisting of 20 cases of Variant of Concern (VOC) and 1 case of Variant of Interest (VOi). To date there are 785 cumulative cases of currently circulating VOi (XBB.1.16, XBB.1.5, and EG.5) with 783 local cases and 2 imported cases.
The breakdown of cases includes 143 cases in Sarawak, 136 cases in Selangor, 119 cases in WP Kuala Lumpur, 117 cases in Melaka, 59 cases in Johor, 52 cases in Kedah, 37 cases in Penang, 24 cases in Terengganu, 23 cases in Sabah , 21 cases in Kelantan, 16 cases in Negeri Sembilan, 12 cases in Perlis, nine (9) cases each in Perak and WP Putrajaya, and eight (8) cases in Pahang.
Until ME 45/2023, the results of surveillance activities for Influenza-Like Illness (Ill) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) for COVID-19 at sentinel locations throughout the country found that 61 Ill samples were detected positive for COVID-19 with a positive rate of 7.0 percent. While a total of 69 SARI samples with a positive rate of 3.0 percent in ME 45/2023.
