Covid 19 Over 22k Cases Reported This Week Dzulkefly

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The number of Covid-19 cases for Epidemiology Week (ME 51/2023), which is from Dec 17-22, increased to 22,413 cases compared to 17,307 cases in Epidemiology Week 50/2023 (Dec 10-15).
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the increase recorded in ME 51/2025 compared to ME 50/2023 was 29.5 percent.
“During the same period, the number of Covid-19 deaths was reported to have dropped by 23.1 percent, from 26 deaths to 20,” he said in a statement today.
Dzulkefly said overall, the number of Covid-19 patients admitted to health facilities in ME 50/2023 compared to ME 49/2023, namely non-critical beds increased to 1.5 percent and the filling of intensive care unit (ICU) beds rose to 3.6 percent.
He said for the Covid-19 vaccine on Dec 22, only 50 people received the first booster dose while 120 people received the second booster dose.
He said cumulatively as of yesterday, only 16,347,130 Malaysians (50.1 percent) had received the first booster dose and only 828,686 (2.5 percent) had received the second booster dose.
Health Minister Dzulkefly AhmadDzulkefly said the Health Ministry will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation and take immediate and appropriate action if necessary.
The ministry also advised the public to practise good self-assessment and control, including ensuring personal hygiene to avoid contracting infectious diseases including Covid-19.
He said people need to exercise civic responsibility to protect not only themselves, but their families and the entire community, especially high-risk groups.
Dengue cases spike
Meanwhile, Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said the cumulative total of dengue cases this year until Dec 16 recorded a rise of 89.3 percent, to 117,505 cases from 62,060 cases in 2022.
He added that there were 92 deaths due to dengue fever complications recorded this year. Forty-nine deaths were recorded in the same period last year.
“In the 50th Epidemiological Week 2023 (Epi Week 50), from Dec 10 to 16, dengue cases rose by 6.5 percent, or 192 cases, with 3140 cases compared to 2,948 cases the previous week.
“The number of hotspots recorded in Epi Week 50 also rose to 124 localities compared to 101 localities in the previous week,” he said in a statement today.
Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu HassanHe added that 95 of the hotspots were in Selangor, 13 in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Perak (7), Sabah (4), Negeri Sembilan (2) and one each in Kedah, Penang and Sarawak.
Radzi said dengue cases are expected to rise until next year and the public should take precautions against dengue by ensuring the cleanliness of their homes and environments and destroying any potential breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito.
Those with dengue symptoms, including continuous fever, diarrhoea as well as aches and pains even with a negative Covid-19 test, are advised to take a fever test at the nearest health facility.
Regarding Chikungunya case surveillance, he said there was no outbreak detected in Epi Week 50 but one case was recorded, bringing the total to 193 cases and that 3,733 blood samples and 411 urine samples were screened for zika, all of which produced negative results.
- Bernama

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