Data from the Health Ministry stated that in the 14 days leading up to April 29, hospitalisations increased by 9.2 percent to 3,381 and cases increased by 0.6% to 9,780.
A new wave of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia has caused test kits to sell out, more people to be admitted to hospitals, and experts to advise the public to stay away from crowded areas.
Covid-19 test kits were widely available only a few months ago, but as cases have continued to rise since the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, some pharmacies in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor are currently out of stock.
The media was informed by one patient that she contacted several pharmacies in search of test kits and an oximeter only to be told that they were out of stock. Data from the Health Ministry stated that in the 14 days leading up to April 29, hospitalisations increased by 9.2 percent to 3,381 and cases increased by 0.6% to 9,780.
The number of daily confirmed cases of fresh wave of COVID on April 29 was 1,050. The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 has increased by 25%. Experts think that the number of cases may be underreported. It’s possible that people who are asymptomatic or only exhibit minor symptoms aren’t alerting the authorities via the MySejahtera tracking app. Government hospitals are currently reporting occupancy rates of 70.3%, up from 50% on April 22.
The occupancy rate in intensive care units is 67%. On Wednesday, several private hospitals, including Prince Court Medical Center and Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur, were full and unable to take on any more Covid-19 patients.
The Health Ministry tweeted a reminder on Wednesday that those who test positive must quarantine themselves at home for a mandatory seven days. An early release is possible with a negative test supervised by a medical practitioner from the fourth day of infection.
Chee Hui Yee, an associate professor of virology at Universiti Putra Malaysia, claims that the holiday season is to blame for the current pandemic wave Malaysia is experiencing. Many people returned home or went on vacation for the first Hari Raya celebrations after Malaysia lifted its mask mandate, with a few exceptions, in September 2022.
She urged the public to “get ready for the worst” despite the fact that the number of severe cases of wave of COVID has not significantly increased and that the “situation is manageable.” If you have symptoms, put on a mask, get tested, stay away from people, and steer clear of crowded areas. Isolate yourself if you test positive.
According to data from tests conducted on April 22, Professor Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, the head of the government’s COVID-19 Epidemiological Analysis and Strategies Task Force, said the rate at which COVID-19 tests are coming back positive is “very high.”
Out of the 2,503 tests performed on that day alone, there were 562 cases. This suggests a test positivity rate of 22.4%. I believe the 562 cases are a vast underestimation,” he told the media.
Prof. Awang added that there was no corresponding test data, but the most recent data on new cases was from April 29.
Only once a week does the Health Ministry release data, and while there does appear to be information on new infections, there hasn’t been any test-related information since April 22.
Accordingly, Prof. Awang questioned, “I wonder what the test positivity rate is like and how much we are underestimating the number of new infections.”
Midway through 2021, the nation experienced a deadly wave brought on by the Delta coronavirus, which caused many hospitals to run out of beds and oxygen. 632,982 infections were reported in August of that year, with daily cases frequently exceeding 20,000. In the same month, the nation reported 7,640 deaths associated with COVID-19, nearly twice as many as the 3,854 deaths noted in July.