Five new Covid-19 cases, only 71 patients left

CORONAVIRUS | The country today recorded five new Covid-19 cases, three of which were imported infections.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (above) said the imported cases involved two Malaysians and a permanent resident who were infected abroad.

As for the two local transmissions, he said one is a restaurant worker in Kuala Lumpur and the other is a Malaysian related to an existing Covid-19 patient (Case 8,649) in Selangor.

Speaking at the Health Ministry's briefing in Putrajaya, Noor Hisham said the new infections bring cumulative cases to 8,668.

He reported 11 Covid-19 patients have been discharged from hospital, putting the total recoveries at 8,476 or 97.8 percent.

To date, only 71 Covid-19 patients are still under treatment, of which two are in the intensive care unit and need ventilators to breathe, he added. 

No new fatalities were reported, maintaining the death toll at 121.

The data was for the last 24 hours up until noon today.

A total of 4,915 Covid-19 swab tests were conducted yesterday, representing 13 percent of the maximum capacity of 37,004 swab tests that 56 government and private labs are able to process.

In a related development, Noor Hisham said 414 overseas returnees who were placed under home quarantine have yet to get retested for Covid-19 at the end of their 14-day quarantine period and urged them to do so. 

However, this is less than the 1,492 people who had not gotten retested on June 29 after the government warned the police could be sent after them.

"We need to learn from the situation in Victoria, Australia which announced that 55 routes at the border with New South Wales would be closed after a Covid-19 resurgence there," he added.

He said the resurgence in Australia was in part attributed to overseas returnees who failed to comply with standard operating procedures (SOPs).

In Malaysia, 5,390 others have already gotten their retest results and have been cleared to end their home quarantine, he said. 

Under current procedures, anyone returning from abroad will be tested for Covid-19 and then placed under home quarantine for 14 days.

At the end of that period, they are required to get tested again to ensure that they are still negative.

Those undergoing home quarantine must fulfil the following conditions:

1.  Wear a face mask throughout the journey from the airport to their homes
2. Contact the district health office if they show symptoms
3. Wear an observation band throughout the quarantine period
4. Get a second Covid-19 test on the 13th day of quarantine at any government clinic or private clinic recognised by the Health Ministry
5. Present the Covid-19 test result to the nearest district health office for clearance and removal of the observation band on the 14th day.

Noor Hisham reiterated for Malaysians to avoid crowded places, confined spaces and close conversations which he referred to as the "3Cs", as a precaution against Covid-19.

He also reminded Malaysians to wash their hands with soap, wear a face mask in public and heed warnings from the Health Ministry, referred to as the "3Ws".