While the number of daily new cases have begun to plateau around the 5,000 mark, the health ministry still reported a high of 6,440 cases on June 18. The lowest was 4,949 on June 14.
A total of 38,911 infections were recorded between June 13 and June 19 – a dip from the 41,630 cases recorded in the previous week.
Selangor continued to be the state with the highest number of infections, and Negeri Sembilan saw a surprising surge with 1,086 infections on June 17.
A record high 924 patients were warded in the intensive care unit (ICU) on June 16. The number has since decreased slightly to 886 as of yesterday, with 441 requiring respiratory assistance.
The death toll now stands at 4,348, with an average of 72 deaths recorded each day. In the past week alone, there were 504 casualties, a drop from the 553 the week before.
The total number of recoveries in the past week have remained about the same with 50,131 patients discharged. Last week, the figure was 50,437.
The number of clusters have dropped to 142 from the 154 recorded in the past week. Of the total, 96 were workplace clusters.
As of June 19, some 5.51 million people have received at least one vaccine dose.
Covid-19 making the headlines
Here are some of the major headlines in the news involving Covid-19 over the past week.
- Government reveals national recovery plan
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin revealed that Putrajaya’s exit strategy from the Covid-19 pandemic will involve four phases, which are based on three indicators: new daily cases, capacity of the public health system and the number of people who have received the vaccine.
Under the government’s roadmap. Parliament will reconvene in the third phase either in September or October. All economic sectors, social activities, cross-border travel and domestic tourism will be allowed latest by the end of the year.
- King wants Parliament convened as soon as possible
Following discussions with 18 political party leaders and a special meeting of the Conference of Rulers, the palace announced that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong wished Parliament to be reconvened as soon as possible as it was important for MPs to discuss Covid-19 matters.
The Rulers’ Conference also issued a joint statement saying there was no need for the nation to remain under a state of emergency after Aug 1, and that state assemblies must also reopen soon.
- SPM students to be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccination
The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force agreed to prioritise the Covid-19 vaccine for students sitting for major examinations. This came after the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency had approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12 and above.
Lockdown, but no slowdown in ICU Covid-19 patients
According to health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, there has not been a significant decrease in the number of ICU patients although the daily new cases have dropped in the last two weeks.
He said the rate of occupied ICU beds remained beyond 100%, largely due to the new variants which cause patients to quickly become seriously ill and recover slower.
More rush to sign up for vaccine as situation worsens in Labuan
Labuan saw a surge in people registered for vaccination through the MySejahtera mobile application, jumping from 66.11% to 73% of the population in a day.
Putrajaya said it would be sending 30,000 vaccine doses to the federal territory in view of the health crisis there, which has reported 6,828 cases so far. Walk-in vaccinations have also begun, along with the opening of five more vaccination centres in the area.