The Malaysian Insight

MALAYSIA recorded 906 new coronavirus hospital admissions yesterday, said the Health Ministry, an increase from 750 the day before.

The country has registered less than 1,000 hospital admissions for 16 straight days – a streak started on January 6, when 920 people were admitted for the virus.

The CovidNow portal showed that the hospital utilisation rate increased from 62.2% to 65.4%. The ventilator utilisation rate stands at 33.6%, while intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rate stands at 52.8%, of which 17.1% are Covid-19 cases.

The hospital admission rate indicates the severity of the virus. It includes bed occupancy and the number of patients in ICUs and on ventilators.

The Klang Valley continues to claim the highest number of admissions at 312, of which Selangor reported 233, Kuala Lumpur (72) and Putrajaya (7).

The region’s hospital bed utilisation, including non-Covid cases, increased from 48.4% to 59.4%.

Other states and territories that reported new admissions are Johor (170), Sabah (99), Negri Sembilan (98), Sarawak (54), Kelantan (47), Perak (30), Kedah (26), Pahang (23), Malacca (18), Terengganu (11), Perlis (9) and Penang (9).

Malacca tops the hospital bed utilisation rate at 83.7% – the only state with a rate above 80%.

Malaysia recorded 4,046 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, its highest in the past three weeks.

Of the fresh infections, Klang Valley claimed 1,435, of which Selangor reported 964, Kuala Lumpur (425) and Putrajaya (46).

Other states and territories that reported new cases are Johor (444), Kelantan (356), Negri Sembilan (340), Kedah (315), Penang (310), Pahang (226), Malacca (197), Sabah (176), Perak (166), Terengganu (52), Perlis (14), Sarawak (14) and Labuan (1).

Of the 42,843 active cases, 35,554 patients are self-isolating at home, 4,278 are in quarantine centres and 2,862 in hospitals.

A total of 149 patients are in intensive care units, of which 71 are on ventilators. – January 22, 2022.