PETALING JAYA: Although the daily Covid-19 case figures recently surged to new records due to the Omicron wave, the Health Ministry says hospitalisation rates are still at a much more manageable level compared to last year.

       Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the number of Covid-19 deaths and admissions to intensive care units (ICU) was 80% to 90% lower than the peak of the Delta wave in August 2021.

       “This is an example of the decoupling effect. Previously, during the Delta wave, when the number of cases went up, the death rates and ICU admissions would follow suit.

       “But today, despite the number of cases being higher than during the Delta wave, the number of deaths and ICU admissions is a lot lower than last year’s figures.

       “This shows the effectiveness of vaccines in protecting individuals from more severe infections.

       “We can see this especially among the elderly who have received boosters and teenagers who have been jabbed twice,” said Khairy at a press conference at the ministry in Putrajaya.

       The minister said that when analysing Covid-19 new cases, it should also be read with the number of discharged patients.

       “For example, on Feb 23, the number of new cases was 31,080 while the number of those discharged was 20,399.

       “This resulted in the reduction of our infectivity rate (Rt), which is currently at 1.13. The rate of hospitalisations, ventilator and ICU usage at our hospitals is also at a manageable level right now.

       “The length of stay at hospitals is also shorter compared to the Delta wave.”He added that of the 31,080 new cases on Feb 23, there were 194 cases in the severe categories of 3, 4 and 5.

       Of that, nearly 79% are individuals who are not vaccinated or have not received booster doses.

       Asked about the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, Khairy said the World Health Organisation did not deem it as a separate variant of concern.

       “I have asked the Institute for Medical Research to provide further details on both the transmissibility of BA.2 as well as its virulence,” he said.

       In the Feb 23 figures, Malaysia registered a record 31,199 new Covid-19 cases, according to the ministry’s CovidNow portal.

       Of the number, 31,080 were local transmissions while 119 were imported cases.

       This brings the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 3,305,157 cases since the pandemic began.