KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded a 15.5% drop in the number of new Covid-19 cases for the epidemiological week 22 (ME 22), from May 29 to June 4, with 11,052 cases compared with 13,076 cases reported in ME 21.

       Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in the country now stood at 4,513,631 while cumulative recoveries at 4,455,499.

       “The average daily active cases for the ME 22 is 23,290, an 8.2% drop compared with the previous week.

       “The average infectivity rate (Rt value) also showed a 2.2% drop at 0.91, compared with 0.93 reported in the previous week,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       Dr Noor Hisham added that the number of deaths in ME 22 showed a 36.8% increase at 26 cases, compared with only 19 cases reported in the previous week, taking the cumulative deaths due to Covid-19 to 35,686.

       Meanwhile, the admission of Covid-19 patients to health facilities, namely public hospitals and the Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centres (PKRCs) per 100,000 population during ME 22 had increased by 11% compared with ME 21.

       “There was no change to Covid-19 patient admission to public hospitals per 100,000 population for all categories. The number of cases requiring breathing aids had decreased by 17%.

       “On the overall, the non-critical bed occupancy had decreased by 8% and the bed occupancy at PKRCs remained unchanged while the use of intensive care unit beds dropped by 14%,” he said, reported Bernama.