PETALING JAYA: It was a week of record highs, both in new infections and recoveries while the nation dealt with the sobering fact that Covid-19 deaths had crossed the 10,000 mark.
The number of those receiving intensive care remained firmly above 1,000 for five consecutive days from Aug 2, when 1,063 ICU patients were reported. Yesterday, the number stood at 1,097.
On Aug 4, two records were broken – 257 people succumbed to the virus, while 19,819 new cases were reported. The previous records were 17,786 cases on July 31 and 219 deaths on Aug 2.
The very next day, the infections breached the 20,000 mark for the first time, recording 20,596 cases.
The situation worsened on Aug 6, when 20,889 new cases were reported, making it the third consecutive day record highs were broken.
The only piece of good news was that the country recorded the highest number of recoveries – which had been outpaced by infections in the last seven days – with 16,394 discharged from hospital. The previous record was 12,930 on July 29.
And while yesterday’s recoveries dipped by 71, it nevertheless helped push the total number of those discharged from hospital to cross the one million mark. As of yesterday, 1,009,343 had recovered.
The number of infections breached the 1 million mark on July 25.
Clusters remained below the record high of 42 recorded on July 27, but it worked out to an average of 31 clusters per day for the last week.
For the most part, workplace clusters dominated, although on Aug 3, workplace and community clusters tied at 14 each. The next day, 20 community clusters were recorded, compared to the 14 detected at the workplace.
FMT takes a brief look at the major headlines on Covid-19 over the past week.
Lower House, high cases
A total of 85 Covid-19 cases linked to Parliament were detected. Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 60 cases were reported before the Dewan Rakyat sitting, 17 during the sitting and eight before the Dewan Negara sitting.
On Aug 1, Noor Hisham said four cases of Covid-19 infections in Parliament were most likely from the Delta variant. The DAP has since demanded that evidence be produced.
Number of Covid cases to fall
The number of daily Covid-19 cases is expected to begin decreasing at the end of this month, Noor Hisham said, once 40% of the population in Malaysia was fully vaccinated.
Health minister Dr Adham Baba said that as of Saturday, a total of 8,258,110 Malaysians or 25.3% of the population had been fully vaccinated.
Hello, anti-body there?
Three people who said they had received two doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine have claimed that they tested negative for antibodies.
The trio had taken tests following reports of “blank” vaccine jabs.
Yesterday, however, coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) Khairy Jamaluddin advised against the public going for such tests, saying there are still no clinical guidelines on the matter.
Kedah MB apologises over Covid-19 joke
Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor apologised over a joke he made in response to the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic in the state, saying it was taken out of context.
In a video that has gone viral, Sanusi had been asked by a reporter whether there were enough containers in the state to store the bodies of Covid-19 victims.
To this, he said there were enough, before quipping that anyone who wanted to enter (the container) had to submit their names, sparking an outcry from social media users and politicians alike.
PH Youth leader dies of Covid-19
Pakatan Harapan Youth chief Shazni Munir died on Saturday from Covid-19. He had been undergoing treatment for the virus and was listed as a Category 5 patient less than a week ago.
The Amanah Youth leader tested positive on July 19, and on July 24, it was reported that his wife and children had also been infected. - FMT
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