Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the number of patients at the 198 CACs throughout the country had risen from 4,000 to 10,000 a day as of June 5.

“Similarly, the number of active cases being monitored by CACs has increased by 108% – from 5,300 per day to 11,000 per day,” he said in a statement today.

He added that more cases were also being referred to hospitals for treatment in the period from May 23 to June 5.

Noor Hisham said the increased workload in a short period of time had overwhelmed CAC hotlines nationwide, resulting in some calls going unanswered.

According to him, the situation had caused anxiety among patients undergoing home quarantine, especially those who had reported new symptoms on MySejahtera but were awaiting further action from their nearest CAC.

To improve the situation, Noor Hisham said the health ministry was establishing a call centre to receive general enquiries on “home monitoring”, refer symptomatic patients to the relevant CAC and channel emergency calls to the Malaysian Emergency Response Services (MERS 999).

The centre will begin operations in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, where there are a high number of daily cases.

“The health ministry will also add more telephone lines at 33 CACs in three states to reduce congestion,” said Noor Hisham.