KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded a 27.9% increase in new Covid-19 cases for the 24th epidemiological week (ME 24) from June 12 to 18, but also a 16% drop in deaths in the same period against the previous week.

       Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic) said cases increased to 14,195 compared with 11,096 reported in ME 23.

       However, the number of deaths declined to 21 against 25 cases the previous week, he noted, which brought the cumulative number of fatalities from Covid-19 to 35,732.

       Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement on Monday (June 20) that the average daily active cases for ME 24 saw a 9.3% increase to 24,053 cases over the previous week.

       The cumulative number cases since the start of the pandemic in 2020 now stood at 4,538,922, he added.

       "The average infectivity rate (Rt value) showed a 12.5% increase at 1.08, compared with 0.96 reported in the previous week,” he said.

       He added that the number of recoveries in ME 24 also dropped by 2.6% week-on-week, falling to 10,524 from 10,806, bringing the cumulative recoveries to 4,476,829.

       He also said there was no significant change in the number of Covid-19 patient admissions to hospitals and Quarantine and Treatment Centres (PKRCs) per 100,000 population.

       "However, the number of patient admissions to public hospitals per 100,000 population increased by 4%. The number of cases requiring breathing assistance also increased by 33%.

       "Overall, the bed occupancy rate at PKRCs dropped by 1% and non-critical bed occupancy increased by 1%, while the use of intensive care unit (ICU) beds rose by 2%," he added.

       Dr Noor Hisham said positive cases monitored by Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) nationwide showed an increase with patient arrivals at CACs increasing by 22.1% and the number of new Covid-19 cases undergoing home monitoring up by 37.6%.

       The number of cases referred by CAC to PKRC or hospitals also increased by 11.4%, he said. – Bernama