KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 – Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia rose about 10-fold or more to nearly four a day at the peak of a short epidemic wave that has begun to decline, in line with global infection trends.
According to the KKMNow site, Covid-19 fatalities in the country hovered at below one daily since the last week of June 2023, before spiking to 3.7 deaths on average last December 24, when confirmed cases, hospital admissions, and deaths began rising since November.
For about five months between last June 24, when 1.1 Covid deaths were reported on average, and last November 26 that reported an average of 1.3 Covid deaths, daily fatalities from Covid-19 averaged at mostly 0.3 cases. For the most of August, no person was reported to have died from Covid-19.
However, the epidemic in Malaysia appears to be abating, as infections began dropping since last Christmas Eve, along with hospital admissions and also fatalities.
Confirmed Covid-19 cases dropped to about 2,943 on average last December 30, while hospital admissions from Covid fell to 389 on average. Deaths from Covid dropped to 1.3 on average that day.
The positivity rate also dropped over the past week to 13.3 per cent last December 30.
In the past 14 days as of last December 30, a total of 47 people in Malaysia succumbed to Covid-19.
Globally, Covid-19 cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) also spiked last month to a peak of about 437,100 cases weekly by December 17, before falling to some 259,100 cases a week by last December 24.
In the past seven days as of last December 24, the WHO recorded a decline of the Covid-19 epidemic, with 177,977 fewer cases around the world compared to the previous seven days.
In the Western Pacific region, which Malaysia is located in, weekly Covid-19 cases reported to the WHO also plummeted by December 24 to about 14,100 from about 77,700 the previous week.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has yet to announce if it will procure the updated monovalent XBB.1.5 vaccines. Only the Sinovac vaccine targeting the original strain is available in the country.
Malaysians residing in their home country who wish to get the new XBB.1.5 mRNA vaccine can book an appointment in Singapore and pay for their jab under Singapore’s private vaccination programme. Moderna’s XBB.1.5 vaccine is priced at SG$158 (RM553) per dose (inclusive of GST).
The MOH also confirmed on its official X account last December 28 that it hasn’t yet opened up vaccination programmes for a third Covid booster dose.
