The Malaysian Insight

MALAYSIA recorded 923 new coronavirus hospital admissions yesterday, said the Health Ministry.

The country has registered less than 1,000 hospital admissions for 17 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 decreased from 63.8% from 65.4%, while the bed utilisation rate for Covid-19 cases increased from 26% to 26.5%.

The ventilator utilisation rate stands at 34.2%, while intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rate stands at 51.8%, of which 16.2% are coronavirus 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 with 345, of which Selangor reported 270, Kuala Lumpur (70) and Putrajaya (5).

The region’s hospital bed utilisation, including non-Covid cases, stands at 59.5%.

Other states and territories that reported new admissions are Johor (191), Sabah (102), Sarawak (62), Negri Sembilan (55), Kelantan (53), Perak (26), Kedah (25), Pahang (24), Perlis (12), Malacca (12), Penang (9) and Terengganu (7).

Kedah recorded the highest hospital bed utilisation at 74.2%.

Malaysia also registered 4,116 new Covid-19 cases yesterday.

Of the fresh infections, Klang Valley claimed 1,487, of which Selangor reported 1,145, Kuala Lumpur (314) and Putrajaya (28).

Other states and territories that reported new cases are Johor (568), Kelantan (430), Kedah (342), Penang (249), Negri Sembilan (244), Sabah (218), Pahang (190), Malacca (168), Perak (136), Terengganu (48), Perlis (17), Sarawak (14) and Labuan (5).

Of the 44,088 active cases, 37,167 patients are self-isolating at home, 3,890 are in quarantine centres and 2,890 in hospitals.

A total of 141 patients are in intensive care units, of which 62 are on ventilators. – January 23, 2022.