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PUTRAJAYA – There are fewer Categories 3 to 5 Covid-19 patients requiring hospitalisation in five states thanks to the increasing number of fully vaccinated people among the adult population in those areas.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah says with more people fully inoculated, the use of intensive care unit (ICU) beds for all three categories in Labuan, Sarawak, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya has been reduced.
“We found that when the adult population (those aged 18 and above) vaccination rate reached 63.4% in Labuan, (55.7% in Sarawak, 40.1% in Negri Sembilan, 78.3% in Kuala Lumpur, 69.3% in Putrajaya), there was a decrease in the admission of Categories 3 to 5 patients to hospitals and ICUs.
“Other states have not shown a declining trend as their percentages of completed vaccinations are still low,” he informed a media conference on the developments of Covid-19 here today.
Dr Noor Hisham said the reduction was also observed at Sg Buloh Hospital after the government implemented the capacity surge operation in the Klang Valley to speed up vaccination for the adult population.
“After the implementation of the operation in the Klang Valley, we found that in the 30th week, the number of Category 4 and 5 admissions dropped among those aged 60 and above.
“In addition, those aged between 40 and 59, as well as those aged 20 to 39, registered a decrease, too. This shows that vaccinations have managed to reduce the number of hospital admissions and use of ICU beds,” he said.
He said severe symptoms of those infected have also been reduced, with only three cases involving medical workers infected by the virus under Category 5, two deaths, and one still being treated in the ICU and requiring respiratory support.
Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said, out of 21,468 new Covid-19 cases reported today, only 2,703 cases or 12.6% were fully vaccinated.
He said active cases stand at 241,187, with 1,075 patients being treated in ICUs, and 537 of that number requiring respiratory support. The number of recoveries reported today was 17,025.
Besides that, 277 deaths were reported today, bringing the national death toll to 11,968, he said, adding that 41 fresh outbreaks were recorded, bringing total active clusters to 1,293.
He said the Covid-19 infectivity rate (Rt) in Malaysia is 1.05 with Perlis having the highest Rt of 1.33, followed by Sabah and Kelantan (both 1.2), and Sarawak and Penang (both 1.17). – Bernama, August 13, 2021