Covid-19 new cases drop below 3,000-mark for second time since May with 2,778 infections
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — The Ministry of Health recorded 2,778 new Covid-19 positive cases as of noon today, the second time the figure has dropped below 3,000 since early May 2021.
It had been more than half a year since daily new cases in the country fell below the 3,000-mark before six days ago, when the MoH reported 2,589 new transmission cases.
The number of new cases reported today means nearly three out of every 11 Malaysians have been infected by the coronavirus, as the cumulative number of positive cases now stands at 2,741,179.
Health Department Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced the data on Twitter this evening.
Today’s data also indicates an upward trend in imported cases amid concerns about the highly contagious Omicron variant.
MoH reported 129 new cases involving Malaysian nationals returning from trips abroad, while five more were foreign nationals.
So far, little is known about the new variant even as virologists have declared it to be the dominant strain. It is yet to be ascertained if Omicron worsens symptoms, but public health authorities have said they are preparing for the possibility that hospitalisation could increase.
The ministry had also warned about the risk of rising transmission caused by the ongoing floods. As many as 418 positive cases had been detected among the over 35,000 flood-hit victims, while 193 of cases of infectious diseases were also recorded as of noon.
The national infectivity rate as of noon, measured as Rt, is 0.88.
MOH said 306 patients from the total new cases were admitted into intensive care units, with 244 of them positive with Covid-19 while the rest are still under investigation.
The number of patients that required breathing support was 170.
Meanwhile two new clusters were identified, making the number of active clusters to 218. The cumulative number of infection clusters to date is 6,103, with 5885 of them deemed inactive.
Discharged patients as of noon stood at 3,539.
Related Articles No Covid-19 screening, no meeting for V.E. member and producer Damian Mikhail China's Xian marks first week of lockdown as Covid cases persist Australia's Omicron outbreak strains testing clinics as cases hit records
