By Melati Mohd Ariff
This is Bernama’s weekly roundup on COVID-19 and related matters in Malaysia and globally from Jan 22 to noon today.
In Malaysia, case numbers have exceeded 2.85 million and globally, the virus has infected more than 366 million people and caused over 5.6 million deaths. Some 289 million patients have so far recovered from the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic, which is now in its second year, has affected 222 countries and territories.
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – The nation’s COVID-19 education clusters surged further with 64 cases (74 per cent) detected out of 87 new clusters reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) during the week.
Yesterday (Jan 27) alone, 18 education clusters were recorded out of 22 clusters reported. Other clusters were workplace (2), community (1) and high-risk group (1).
A total of 18 clusters were reported in Johor (2), Kelantan (2), Negeri Sembilan (2), Pahang (3), Perak (2), Penang (2), Sabah (3), Selangor (1) and Kuala Lumpur (1).
According to MOH COVIDNOW data, the clusters with the highest number of COVID-19 cases as at 11.59 pm yesterday were Persiaran Pendidikan Enstek (Seremban, Negeri Sembilan) cluster with 50 cases todate.
Below is the breakdown in education clusters nationwide during the week as compiled by Bernama for the week from Jan 22 to Jan 27:
Jan 22 (7), Jan 23 (12), Jan 24 (5), Jan 25 (9), Jan 26 (13) and Jan 27 (18).
Meanwhile, after nearly six weeks hovering below 5,000 daily cases, MOH reported a surge in the nation’s new daily cases to 5,439 cases, bringing the cumulative figure to 2,850,408.
The last time Malaysia registered new COVID-19 daily cases of 5,000 was on Dec 15, 2021 with 5,058 cases.
MOH data on new daily cases for the week under review are as follows:
Jan 22 (4,116), Jan 23 (3,856), Jan 24 (3,214), Jan 25 (4,066), Jan 26 (4,744) and Jan 27 (5,439).
The nation’s imported cases stood at the three-digit level, with data during the week under review as below:
Jan 22 - 498 (406 citizens; 92 non-citizens);
Jan 23 - 492 (378 citizens; 114 non-citizens);
Jan 24 - 406 (307 citizens; 99 non-citizens);
Jan 25 - 442 (323 citizens; 119 non-citizens);
Jan 26 - 429 (289 citizens; 140 non-citizens);
Jan 27 - 332 (204 citizens; 128 non-citizens).
With the cumulative figure of 2,850,408 cases, Malaysia now ranked 25th in the list of 222 nations/territories struck by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of Malaysia are Czechia (2,888,827 cases) and Belgium (2,939,439 cases).
According to Director General of Health Tan Sri Dr 5,439 new daily cases, only 47 cases (0.9 per cent) were categories 3, 4 and 5; while 5,392 cases (99.1 per cent) were categories 1 and 2.
According to MOH, category 5 is for critical cases requiring ventilators; category 4 is for patients needing oxygen assistance and category 3 is for patients with pneumonia. Category 1 is for patients who are asymptomatic and category 2 is for those with mild symptoms.
A total of 4,409 recovered COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday, bringing the total cumulative figure to 2,770,663 cases (97.2 per cent).
Of 101 confirmed COVID-19 cases at the Intensive Care Unit yesterday, 47 needed respiratory assistance.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's COVID-19 infectivity rate or Ro/Rt value based on estimated daily cases yesterday was below 1.00 while the state breakdown during the week is as follows:
Jan 22 (1.07), Jan 23 (1.08), Jan 24 (1.09), Jan 25 (1.09), Jan 26 (1.13) and Jan 27 (1.15).
As of yesterday, the states with the highest Ro/Rt value on Jan 20 were Negeri Sembilan (1.21), Kedah (1.16) and Johor (1.14).
The R-Naught or R0/Rt value of a virus indicates the infectivity rate or the number of new infections generated by each case. An R0 value of 0.5 would be needed to flatten this deadly virus’ infection curve.
VOC/OMICRON AND VOI CASES
Meanwhile, MOH reported on Jan 25, 162 new variant cases of concern (VOC) were detected during the week from Jan 23 to Jan 25. All of them were Omicron (B.1.1.529).
Of the 162 new Omicron cases, the state-by-state breakdown according to MOH data is as follows:
Selangor (59), Kuala Lumpur (39), Kedah (13), Negeri Sembilan (10), Kelantan (10), Johor (8), Pahang (6), Perak (5), Penang (4), Melaka (2), Perlis (2), Sabah (2), Terengganu (1) and Putrajaya (1).
Of 162 new cases, total cumulative cases infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus categorised as VOC and Variant ofInterest (VOI) stood at 7,056 cases.
Of a total of 7,056 cases, 7,036 cases were VOC while 20 were VOI. Overall,
Overall for VOC, 6,188 cases were Delta variant, 601 Omicron variant, 233 Beta and 14 Alpha. Of the VOI cases, 13 were Theta, four (4) were Kappa and three (3) were Eta.
COVID-19 SCENARIO IN MALAYSIA
Of the total new daily cases of 5,439 reported yesterday, the state-by-state breakdown in new daily cases (+imported cases) is as follows:
Three-digit new daily cases - Johor 794 (+11), Kedah 415 (+13), Kelantan 391 (+4), Melaka 295 (+4), Negeri Sembilan 393, Pahang 298 (+2), Perak 138 (+4), Penang 388 (+8), Sabah 329 (+13), Selangor 1,167 (+188) and Kuala Lumpur 345 (+75).
Two-digit daily new cases - Terengganu 67 (+1), WP Putrajaya 39 (+4), Sarawak 19, Perlis 15 (+1) and Labuan 14 (+4).
New cases, imported cases, local transmission:
Jan 22 – New cases: 4,116 (cumulative 2,829,089); Imported cases: 498 (406 citizens; 92 non-citizens); Local transmission: 3,618 [3,504 citizens (96.8 per cent); 114 non-citizens (3.2 per cent)];
23 Jan – New cases: 3,856 (cumulative 2,832,945); Imported cases: 492 (378 citizens; 114 non-citizens); Local transmission: 3,364 [3,236 citizens (96.2 per cent); 128 non-citizens (3.8 per cent)];
Jan 24 - New cases 3,214 (cumulative 2,836,159); Imported cases: 406 (307 citizens; 99 non-citizens); Local transmission: 2,808 [2,707 citizens (96.4 per cent); 101 non-citizens (3.6 per cent)];
Jan 25 – New cases: 4,066 (cumulative 2,840,225); Imported cases: 442 kes [323 citizens (73.1 per cent); 119 non-citizens (26.9 per cent)]; Local transmission: 3,624 [3,521 citizens (97.2 per cent); 103 non-citizens (2.8 per cent)];
Jan 26 – New cases 4,744 (cumulative 2,844,969); Imported cases 429 [289 citizens (67.4 per cent); 140 non-citizens (32.6 per cent)]; Local transmission: 4,315 [4,112 citizens (95.3 per cent); 203 non-citizens (4.7 per cent)];
Jan 27 - New cases: 5,439 (cumulative 2,850,408); Imported cases: 332 [204 citizens (61.4 per cent); 128 non-citizens (38.6 per cent)]; Local transmission: 5,107 [4,968 citizens (97.3 per cent); 139 non-citizens (2.7 per cent)];
Meanwhile, total active clusters in Malaysia as of yesterday stood at 274. Overall, 6,371 clusters were detected in the country with 6,097 of them having ended.
Based on MOH COVIDNOW data, 87 new clusters were reported during the week from Jan 22 to Jan 27. Of the total, the highest was the education cluster with 64 cases (74 per cent) followed by the workplace with 17 cases (20.0 per cent).
Below are record new clusters for the week under review:
Jan 22 to Jan 27 - Total new clusters 87 (education 64, workplace 17, community 4 and high-risk 2).
Jan 15 to Jan 21 – Total new clusters 89 (education 62, workplace 16, high-risk 4, community 3, imported 2, religious 1 and detention centre 1);
Jan 8 to Jan 14 - Total new clusters 35 (workplace 11, education 8, community 7, high-risk 5, imported 3 and religious 1).
Jan 1 to Jan 7 – Total new clusters 28 (workplace 14, community 2, education 4, imported 5 and high-risk 3).
Active cases with probable infection:-
Jan 22 (44,088), Jan 23 (45,120), Jan 24 (45,208), Jan 25 (45,699), Jan 26 (46,785) and Jan 27 (47,805).
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COUNTRY
The breakdown of COVID-19 patients based on their respective categories:
According to MOH, category 5 is for critical cases requiring ventilators; category 4 is for patients needing oxygen assistance and category 3 is for patients with pneumonia. Category 1 is for patients who are asymptomatic and category 2 is for those with mild symptoms.
Of 4,116 daily cases reported on Jan 22;
39 cases (0.9 per cent) were categories 3, 4 and 5; and 4,077 cases (99.1 per cent) were categories 1 and 2.
Of 3,856 daily cases reported on Jan 23;
35 (0.9 per cent) were categories 3, 4 and 5; 3,821 (99.1 per cent) were categories 1 and 2.
Of 3,214 daily cases reported on Jan 24;
35 (1.1 per cent) were categories 3, 4 and 5; and 3,179 (98.9 per cent) were categories 1 and 2.
Of 4,066 daily cases reported on Jan 25;
50 (1.2 per cent) were categories 3, 4 and 5; and 50 (1.2 per cent) were categories 3, 4, and 5; and 4,016 (98.8 per cent) were categories 1 and 2.
Of 4,744 daily cases reported on Jan 26;
30 (0.6 per cent) were categories 3, 4, and 5; and 4,714 (99.4 per cent) were categories 1 and 2.
Of 5,439 daily cases reported on Jan 27;
47 (0.9 per cent) were categories 3, 4 and 5; and 5,392 (99.1 per cent) were categories 1 and 2.
Total recoveries for the week are as follows:
Jan 22 (2,858), Jan 23 (2,814), Jan 24 (3,116), Jan 25 (3,559), Jan 26 (3,646) and Jan 27 (4,409).
*cumulative recovered cases as of yesterday stood at 2,770,663 (97.2 per cent).
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.
Jan 22 - 14 (BID 0), Jan 23 - 9 (BID 1), Jan 24 - 10 (BID 1), Jan 25 - 16 (BID 3), Jan 26 - 12 (BID 2) and Jan 27 - 10 (BID 3).
*Total fatalities as of yesterday stood at 31,940 cases.
Below is the breakdown of new record clusters:
Jan 22 - 9 (workplace 2 and education 7);
Jan 23 - 13 (workplace 1 and education 12);
Jan 24 - 9 (workplace 4 and education 5);
Jan 25 - 13 (workplace 3, community 1 and education 9);
Jan 27 - 21 (workplace 5, community 2, education 13 and high-risk 1);
Jan 27 - 22 (workplace 2, community 1, education 18 and high-risk 1).
GLOBAL COVID-19 STATISTICS
According to Worldometer, COVID-19 cases worldwide stood at 366,331,877 cases during the week under review as against 346,345,562 the previous week with 5,655,160 deaths compared to 5,601,667 previously. Recovered cases rose to 289,570,408 from 276,478,029 the previous week.
Some 222 countries are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and those in the top 10 of the list are the United States (US), India, Brazil, the United Kingdom (UK), France, Russia, Turkey, Italy, Spain and Germany.
The breakdown of the top 10 nations (+ new record daily cases) is as follows:
US 74,568,431 cases (+ 368,899);
India 40,620,197 cases (+ 248,697);
Brazil 24,764,838 cases (+ 210,888);
France 18,122,724 cases (+ 392,168);
UK 16,245,474 cases (+ 96,871);
Russia 11,404,617 cases (+ 88,816);
Turkey 11,250,107 cases (+ 82,180);
Italy 10,539,601 cases (+ 155,697);
Spain 9,660,208 cases (+ 130,888);
Germany 9,334,637 cases (+ 189,363).
China, where the COVID-19 outbreak was first reported at end-December 2019, remained at the 119th spotwith 105,811 cases (+62 new daily cases).
Besides Malaysia, the Southeast Asian nations namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Laos and Cambodia, have joined the list of 112 countries with more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases.
The cumulative breakdown of COVID-19 cases (+new daily cases) is as follows:
Indonesia 16th spot - 4,309,270 (+ 8,077);
Philippines 20th - 3,493,447 (+ 18,191);
Malaysia 25th- 2,850,408 (+ 5,439);
Thailand 28th- 2,407,022 (+ 8,078);
Vietnam 31st - 2,203,208 (+ 15,727);
Myanmar 73rd - 534,671 (+ 168);
Singapore 88th - 333,071 (+5,469);
Laos 111th - 132,130 (+ 695);
Cambodia 116th - 121,150 (+34);
Brunei 172nd - 16,148 (no information).
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).
Translated by Salbiah Said
BERNAMA
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
