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span style="font-size:14px">By Melati Mohd Ariff
This is Bernama’s weekly roundup on COVID-19 and related matters in Malaysia and globally from July 2 to noon today.
In Malaysia, cases numbers have exceeded 4.58 million and globally, the virus has infected more than 558 million people and caused over 6.36 million deaths. Some 531 million patients have so far recovered from the virus.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which is now in its third year, has affected 228 countries and territories.
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – New daily COVID-19 cases in the country have breached the 4,000-mark, with yesterday’s cases at 4,020 after a caseload of 3,451 a day earlier.
The last time the figure reached 4,000 was on April 24, with 4,006 cases.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has earlier warned that a new wave of COVID-19 infections in the country was expected to occur earlier than predicted based on a rise in daily cases in the country and Singapore. Last Wednesday, MOH reported an increase in cases including categories 3, 4 and 5 with sub-variant Omicron BA.5 detected in the country.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) earlier reported an increase in COVID-19 new daily cases, which were mainly attributed to the highly transmissible sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron strain. The sub-variants were first detected in South Africa in January and February respectively, and since then they have become the dominant variants there.
Muslim customers buying foodstuff at Pasar Besar Ipoh in preparation for their Aidiladha celebration this Sunday. --fotoBERNAMA (2022) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Yesterday’s new cases of 4,020 brought the nation’s COVID-19 active cases with probable infection to 33,839 while total cumulative cases now stood at 4,586,322.
Of the total cases yesterday, Selangor recorded the highest figure of 1,630 cases followed by Kuala Lumpur with 1,049 infections.
States with three-digit cases are Perak with 295, Sabah 205, Negeri Sembilan 197, Penang 128 and Melaka 107, while states with two-digit numbers are Putrajaya with 90 cases, Johor 80, Pahang 62, Kedah 60, Sarawak 57, Kelantan 21, Terengganu 20 and Labuan 12.
Perlis recorded a one digit figure with seven (7) cases.
Following are new daily COVID-19 cases during the week compiled by Bernama from July 2 to July 7:-
July 2 (2,527), July 3 (2,536), July 4 (1,918), July 5 (2,932), July 6 (3,561) and July 7 (4,020).
Qurban, the act of sacrificing domestic animals such as cows, is observed during Aidiladha. Muslims in the country will celebrate their first ‘normal’ Hari Raya Aidiladha this Sunday. --fotoBERNAMA (2022) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
New COVID-19 cases during the week compiled by Bernama (June 25 to July 1):
June 25 (2,303), June 26 (2,003), June 27 (1,894), June 28 (2,025), June 29 (2,605), June 30 (2,867) and July 1 (2,773).
Singapore continued to record high new daily COVID-19 cases during the week, based on Worldometer data below:
July 2 (7,952), July 3 (6,127), July 4 (5,946), July 5 (12,784), July 6 (9,989) and July 7 (9,985).
Meanwhile, a total of 1,718 recovered COVID-19 cases were reported as of 11.59 pm on July 7, bringing the cumulative figure to 4,516,688.
During the week compiled by Bernama, MOH has detected three (3) new clusters on July 2 (1 high risk group, 1 education and 1 workplace) and one (1) new cluster on July 5 (1 high risk group).
Overall, MOH has detected 7024 clusters since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the nation more than two years ago. As of July 7, 11 clusters were still active.
With a cumulative figure of 4,586,322 cases, Malaysia is now ranked 25th in the list of 228 nations/territories struck by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of Malaysia is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) with 4,761,730 cases and Ukraine 5,018,019 cases.
According to Worldometer, of the list of 228 nations, France recorded the highest number of new daily infections with161,265 cases, followed by Italy at 107,240 cases and the United States (US) 91,472.
On COVID-19 fatalities, the US reported the highest deaths with 1,045,080 cases.
Meanwhile, COVIDNOW MOH data as of 11:59 pm on July 7 showed 32,617 cases (96.4 per cent) were quarantined at home out of 33,839 active cases reported.
A total of 21 cases (0.1 per cent) were at the COVID-19 Integrated Quarantine and Treatment Centre (PKRC); 1,156 cases (3.4 per cent) at hospitals; 22 cases (0.1 per cent) at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) without respiratory assistance (ABP) while 23 cases (0.1 per cent) at the ICU with ABP.
For the record, there were five categories of COVID-19 infections. According to MOH, Category 1 is for patients who are asymptomatic; category 2 is for those with mild symptoms; category 3 is for patients with pneumonia; category 4 is for patients needing oxygen assistance and category 5 is for critical cases requiring ventilators.
COVID-19 SCENARIO IN MALAYSIA
Heavy traffic is expected at various highways from Kuala Lumpur during the long Hari Raya Aidiladha weekend. --fotoBERNAMA (2022) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Recovered cases:-
July 2 (2,359), July 3 (3,123), July 4 (2,321), July 5 (2,292), July 6 (2,035) and July 7 (1,718).
* cumulative recovered cases as of yesterday stood at 4,516,688.
Active cases with probable infection:-
July 2 (30,385), July 3 (29,793), July 4 (29,382), July 5 (30,019), July 6 (31,540) and July 7 (33,839).
Breakdown of new daily cases (4,020 cases) :-
*state-by-state, as of 11:59 pm yesterday
*(+imported cases)
Latest Status of COVID-19 in Malaysia. New Cases by States. Source: MOH
Four-digit new daily cases - Selangor 1,630 (+0) and Kuala Lumpur 1,048 (+1);
Three-digit new daily cases - Perak 293 (+2), Sabah 205 (+0), Negeri Sembilan 196 (+1), Penang 128 (+0) and Melaka 104 (+3);
Two-digit new daily cases - Putrajaya 90 (+0), Johor 78 (+2), Pahang 62 (+0), Kedah 60 (+0), Sarawak 57 (+0), Kelantan 21 (+0), Terengganu 20 (+0) and Labuan 12.
One-digit new daily cases - Perlis 7 (+0).
New Record cases, imported cases, local transmission:
July 2 – New cases 2,527; Cumulative cases 4,571,355; Imported cases 4;
July 3 – New cases 2,536; Cumulative cases 4,573,891; Imported cases 3;
July 4 – New cases 1,918; Cumulative cases 4,575,809; Imported cases 2;
July 5 – New cases 2,932; Cumulative cases 4,578,741; Imported cases 2;
July 6 – New cases 3,561; Cumulative cases 4,582,302; Imported cases 9;
July 7 – New cases 4,020; Cumulative cases 4,586,322; Imported cases 9.
During the week compiled by Bernama (July 2 to July 7), MOH has detected three (3) new clusters on July 2 (1 high risk group, 1 education and 1 workplace) and one (1) new cluster on July 5 (1 high risk).
The breakdown in new clusters is as follows:-
July 2 - Jalan Sentul Cluster (high risk) in Kepong (Kuala Lumpur) with 34 cases detected as of July 2; Jalan Simpang Pulai Lahat Cluster (education) in Kinta, Perak, with 10 cases detected as of July 2; Jalan Bercham Nova Cluster (workplace) in Kinta, Perak, with 23 cases detected as of July 2.
July 5 - Lima Jalan Yaacob Latif Cluster (high risk), involving Cheras district (Kuala Lumpur), Seremban (Negeri Sembilan) and Gombak (Selangor), with 13 cases detected as of July 5.
Overall, a total of 7,024 clusters were detected by MOH since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the nation more than two years ago. As of yesterday, 11 clusters were still active.
New record cases and breakdown of clusters:-
July 2 - 3 (workplace 1, education 1 and high risk 1);
July 3 - no cluster;
July 4 - no cluster;
July 5 - 1 (high risk group 1);
July 6 - no cluster;
July 7 - no cluster.
The daily breakdown in fatalities is as follows:
*BID = Brought-in-Dead are cases outside the hospital and those brought to the hospital's forensic department; positive COVID-19 cases after PT PCR tests conducted.
July 2 - 0 (BID 0), July 3 - 5 (BID 0 ), July 4 - 8 (BID 0 ), July 5 - 3 (BID 1 ), July 6 - 5 (BID 2) and July 7 - 3 (BID 2 ).
*Total fatalities as of yesterday stood at 35,795.
GLOBAL COVID-19 STATISTICS
Current Worldwide Statistics on COVID-19 and COVID-19 Case Summary in Malaysia. worldometers.info/coronavirus
According to Worldometer, total COVID-19 cases globally stood at 558,531,927 (previous week at 553,566,290) with 6,368,901 deaths ( 6,349,418 previously). A total of 532,036,413 recovered cases were reported compared to 528,344,169 cases the previous week.
Some 228 countries are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and those in the top 10 of the list are the US, India, Brazil, France, Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), Italy, South Korea, Russia and Turkiye.
The breakdown of the top 10 nations (+ new record daily cases) is as follows:
US 90,065,165 (+91,472);
India 43,587,302 (+18,418);
Brazil 32,761,045 (+73,365);
France 31,974,607 (+161,265);
Germany 28,808,614 (+no information);
UK 22,883,995 (+no information);
Itali 19,157,174 (+107,240);
South Korea 18,451,862 (+18,503);
Russia 18,451,810 (+3,359);
Turkiye 15,180,444 (+no information).
Besides Malaysia, the Southeast Asian nations namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Brunei, have joined the list of 127 countries with more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases.
The cumulative breakdown of COVID-19 cases (+new daily cases) is as follows:-
Vietnam in 12th spot - 10,752,140 (+913);
Indonesia in 20th spot - 6,103,552 (+2,881);
Malaysia in 25th spot - 4,586,322 (+4,020);
Thailand in 26th spot - 4,538,811 (+2,366);
Philippines in 37th spot - 3,713,131 (+1,936);
Singapore in 51st spot - 1,505,938 (+9,985);
Myanmar in 83rd spot - 613,695 (+12);
Laos in 111th spot - 210,341 (+10);
Brunei in 118th spot - 169,848 (+1,088) and
Cambodia in 125th spot - 136,314 (+6).
COVID-19 BACKGROUND
-- The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s China country office was informed of cases of pneumonia that were detected in Wuhan on Dec 31, 2019. On Jan 7, 2020 the Chinese authorities confirmed that the newly detected novel coronavirus can be transmitted from human to human.
-- Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-COV).
-- A study of the virus’ genetic sequence suggested similarities to that seen in snakes and bats. China health officials identified the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan as the source of the transmission of the coronavirus.
-- On Feb 11, 2020, WHO announced the official name of the virus, COVID-19, which is an acronym for coronavirus 2019 – CO stands for corona, VI for virus and D for disease.
-- On Jan 30, 2020, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global emergency and on March 11, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.
-- WHO has described the COVID-19 outbreak as much more dangerous than the A H1N1 Influenza, also known as Swine Flu.
-- Swine Flu, which occurred between January 2009 and August 2010, infected more than 1.6 million people and caused 18,449 fatalities. It was first detected in Mexico and later in the United States in March 2009.
-- COVID-19 was detected in Malaysia on Jan 25, 2020, when three Chinese citizens, who had entered Malaysia through Johore from Singapore on Jan 23, were tested positive for the disease.
-- New variants of the COVID-19 coronavirus have since emerged in the United Kingdom (identified as B117) in September 2020, South Africa (501Y.V2) in October 2020 and India (B.1.617), also in October 2020.
-- Cumulatively, Malaysia's COVID-19 cases have breached the one million mark as on July 25, with 1,013,438 cases. The first time daily cases reached the five-digit level was on July 13 with 11,079 cases.
-- WHO on Nov 26 designated a new variant of COVID-19, named Omicron, a variant of concern. It was first detected in Gauteng Province, South Africa.
-- Scientists at the IHU have detected a new variant named B.1.640.2 at end-November last year, with 46 mutations on its spike protein and nicknamed it IHU.
-- Meanwhile, Israel has confirmed its first case of an individual infected with 'Flurona', a term coined to describe the condition of being infected with COVID-19 and the seasonal flu simultaneously. (Jan 2, 2022).
-- April 1, 2022 – Malaysia enters the transition to endemic phase of COVID-19 as an exit strategy that allows Malaysians to return to normalcy after almost two years of battling COVID-19.
-- May 1, 2022 – On April 27, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced the easing of several restrictions, which include the lifting of the requirement for check-ins on MySejahtera effective May 1.
Translated by Salbiah Said
BERNAMA
