COVID-19: Malaysia records 85 cases today (15 April), lowest since 14 March

Ministry of Health has provided an encouraging update today with a significant reduction of new daily COVID-19 cases in Malaysia. There are 85 new cases recorded today, which is the lowest since 14th March 2020. This is also the first time Malaysia has recorded less than 100 daily cases in over a month.

As of 12pm, there are 5,072 confirmed cases and 83 deaths reported so far which includes 1 death reported today. 169 people have recovered and discharged today which brings the total number of recoveries to 2,647. At the moment, 52.18% of COVID-19 cases have recovered while the mortality rate is 1.63%.

At the moment, there are 2,342 cases still receiving treatment with 56 people in ICU. 32 patients require respiratory support. According to the Ministry of Health, we are now seeing signs of recovery as a result of the movement control order which had started on 18th March 2020.

With the reduction of new cases and the increase of daily recoveries, the number of overall active cases is starting to decrease as illustrated above.

Increasing testing capabilities

At the same time, the Ministry of Health is also increasing the country’s testing capacity. As reported yesterday, with the addition of 5 new labs, Malaysia will be able to conduct 16,000 tests per day. At the same time, the ministry is also optimising its test resources by using antibody serology tests which produces immediate results on the 13th day of admission. If the serology test is positive, then they will rest using PCR.

MCO violators could hamper progress

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also warned that the current progress could be negated by those refusing to abide by the MCO. He shared that his worry was based on the increased road traffic and nearly 15,000 MCO violation arrests.

According to Dr Noor Hisham, phase three of the MCO is for a targeted approach and it is crucial that people adhere to the MCO. He pleaded for all Malaysians to play their part in breaking the COVID-19 chain in Malaysia. Last week, the director-general had called upon barbers and other business sectors to delay their plans to reopen during the MCO until the ministry is assured that the country has recovered.

Fed up with those who are not complying with the order, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced tougher action which took effect today. Instead of issuing RM1,000 compounds, violators will be arrested and charged in court.

[ SOURCE 2, IMAGE SOURCE ]

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