COVID: Only 1.5 per cent of 13,104 new cases in categories 3, 4 and 5

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26  -- Only 1.5 per cent or 201 of the 13,104 new cases of COVID-19 reported until noon today were in categories three, four and five.

In category three are those with pneumonia while those in category four require oxygen support and in category five need ventilators.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the remaining 12,903 cases or 98.5 per cent were in category one with no symptoms or in category two, having minor symptoms.

"Of the new daily cases, eight are imported cases involving three Malaysians and five foreign nationals while 13,096 are locally-transmitted cases involving 11,892 Malaysians and 1,204 foreign nationals.

"There were also 20,971 recovery cases recorded, bringing the tally in this country to 1,989,512 or 90.5 per cent,” he said on the COVID-19 developments today.

He added that 1,058 cases being treated at the intensive care units comprised 850 confirmed COVID-19 positive cases and 208 suspected, possible and under-investigation cases.

Dr Noor Hisham said 580 of the cases required respiratory support with 365 of these being confirmed as COVID-19 positive cases and 215 being suspected, possible and under-investigation cases.

He also said that 12 new clusters of the viral infection were detected with six of these linked to workplaces and the other six to its spread within the community.

Dr Noor Hisham said the anticipated COVID-19 infectivity rate or R-naught (Rt) based on the new cases nationwide yesterday was 0.91 while Pahang and Putrajaya recorded the highest at 1.02.

"The Rt of below 1.0 were recorded by other states with Terengganu recording 0.98, Perak and Kelantan (0.97), Sarawak (0.96), Johor (0.95), Perlis (0.93), Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor (0.89), Penang (0.88), Sabah (0.86), Kedah (0.85), Kuala Lumpur (0.84) and Labuan (zero).

“The number of fatalities will be uploaded for display on the GitHub website and COVIDNOW at https://covidnow.moh.gov.my late tonight,” he added.

He also said that until  Sept 13, 758,919 RTK-Antigen self-tests were done with 14.5 per cent or 107,421 of the individuals detected to be positive for COVID-19.

-- BERNAMA