KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported two new Covid-19 cases today, involving one imported case and one foreign worker via local transmission.
This is the lowest number of new coronavirus cases that has ever been recorded since the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 18 and the second consecutive day with zero local transmissions among Malaysians.
The total number of Covid-19 cases in the country rose to 8,338. A total of 39 patients were discharged today, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 7,014.
One death from Covid-19 has been reported today. The 61-year-old Malaysian male victim had attended the Sri Petaling tabligh gathering and suffered from diabetes and kidney disease. This brings the Covid-19 death toll in the country to 118.
The total number of active patients who are still receiving treatment is 1,206 with five patients in intensive care, and none under ventilator support.
Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also cited statistics from the traffic department that showed road traffic accidents involving injuries and fatalities increased from the MCO period, during which Malaysia was put under near total lockdown, to the Conditional MCO (CMCO) period that lifted most movement restrictions.
“For instance, there were 5,498 road accidents with 58 deaths during the MCO 1 (first phase) from March 18, 2020 to March 31, 2020 (for a period of 14 days).
“This means that the daily rate of accidents was 392.7 accidents per day. When we compare, this number increased sharply to 738 accidents per day since the beginning of the CMCO on May 4, 2020,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
He also stated that the data showed an increase in the total number of road accidents beginning May 5 until May 12. A total of 5,904 road accidents have been reported with 68 fatalities during these eight days.
“From May 13, 2020 to June 9, 2020, a total of 25,251 accidents were recorded with 231 deaths at a rate of 738 accidents per day.
“Initial statistics for accidents or trauma cases receiving treatment at MOH hospitals showed a decrease in trauma cases from 65 to 75 per cent in all states during the MCO compared to the period before the beginning of MCO,” Dr Noor Hisham added.
“However, this number showed an increase by 30 per cent during the implementation of CMCO as there is more movement of vehicles on the road,” he added.
He also expressed his concern over the alarming rise of road accidents as it is expected to continue, following the increase in the number of vehicles on the road.
“MOH is concerned about the safety of the public, especially the increasing number of workers returning to work following the reopening of various economic, social and other sectors.
“Accidents can have serious consequences such as loss of life, permanent disability or loss of body parts, which causes loss of body functionality,” Dr Noor Hisham mentioned.
He also stated that an increasing number of road accidents can have a negative impact on hospital services, such as:
- Increase in mortality and morbidity rates.
- Increase in the usage of health facilities to treat road accident cases, which would cause congestion in the Emergency and Accident Department, increase in emergency and semi-emergency operation cases that may result in increased bed usage and usage of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
- Increase in the usage of blood supply to treat accident cases that generally result in serious injuries and require blood transfusions.
Thus, MOH urged the public to be more cautious on the road to avoid accidents.
