New Covid-19 cases down nearly 17% last week

The number of new Covid-19 cases decreased by 16.9% to 15,549 in the 35th epidemiological week (ME 35/2022) from Aug 28 to Sept 3 compared to 18,715 in ME 34/2022.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 47 deaths were recorded during the same period, a decrease of 21.7% from the previous week.

"The number of recoveries in ME 35/2022 also dropped by 20.9%, from 25,037 cases to 19,813 cases.

"The average number of active cases per day for ME 35/2022 was 31,333, a decrease of 13.4% compared to the week before," he said in a statement today on the Covid-19 situation in the country. 

Admissions to hospitals and public low-risk Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centres (PKRC) per 100,000 residents meanwhile saw a decrease of 9.4% for patients in Category One and Two and 3.6% for those in Category Three and above. 

The occupancy of ICU beds in ME 35/2022 increased by 1% while non-critical beds decreased by 1% and PKRC beds decreased by 2% compared to ME 34/2022.

The percentage of Covid-19 patients requiring respiratory assistance increased by 0.2% in ME 35/2022 compared to ME 34/2022.

Positive cases monitored by Covid-19 assessment centres (CACs) across the country also showed a decrease.

"The number of patient arrivals to CACs decreased by 21.4%, new cases that required monitoring at home decreased by 18.7% while cases referred by CACs to hospitals decreased by 24.9%," Noor Hisham said.