A viral video of patients “parked” outside the emergency department of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah in Klang not only shocked many, but illustrated the dire situation on the ground.
In the Klang Valley, 32,074 cases were recorded within a span of a week, accounting for 58.7% of the total cases between July 4 and July 10.
In total, 54,584 new cases were recorded against 36,888 recoveries between July 4 and July 10. The 9,353 new cases recorded yesterday was a record high since the start of the pandemic.
In a week, a total of 633 people lost their lives, taking the Covid-19 death toll past the 6,000 mark.
A total of 84,021 people are being treated, including 959 who are warded in the intensive care unit.
The infectivity rate also increased from 1.06 to 1.11. The infection rates in Selangor and KL (1.16), Putrajaya (1.19), Kedah (1.13) and Perak (1.17) exceed the national average.
A total of 157 new clusters were reported in the same period, the bulk of them related to workplaces.
FMT takes a brief look at the major headlines on Covid-19 over the past week.
Dire situation in Klang Valley
After videos of the situation at HTAR went viral, the government announced more beds and equipment would be sent to the hospital, while a field hospital would also be set up there.
The government also said it would send more beds and equipment like oxygen cylinders to hospitals in the Klang Valley, bring in health workers from other states to help, and work with the private sector to set up more quarantine and treatment centres.
3rd all-Covid-19 hospital for Selangor
Selangor health director Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman revealed that a third hospital in Selangor is being prepared to fully handle Covid-19 patients because of the increasing number of cases in the state.
The Sungai Buloh and Ampang hospitals are the current fully Covid-19 hospitals in the state.
Labuan improving
The Covid-19 situation in Labuan is improving with active cases on the island expected to drop to 700 in the coming week. The infectivity rate has dropped from 2.0 in May to 0.86 as of July 8.
Previously, a surge in Covid-19 infections saw Labuan recording 8,922 cases. This was attributed to the Delta variant, which was first detected there on April 23.
Empty vaccine?
Claims that a Covid-19 vaccine recipient was injected with an empty syringe went viral this week. The health ministry has said it will look into the matter.
Separately, the Selangor health department said it was “quite impossible” for anyone to be injected with an empty syringe as vaccination centres always adhere to health ministry SOPs.
Vaccinations cross 10mil mark
On July 7, Malaysia crossed the 10 million vaccination mark. As of July 9, a total of 10,750,748 people had received their Covid-19 vaccine shots, 3,314,871 of whom had received their second dose.
Penang enters Phase 2
Penang joined Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak and Perlis to move into Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan after it met the necessary benchmarks in bringing down the number of Covid-19 cases.
Under Phase 2, more retail businesses, including bookshops and stationery shops, those dealing in electrical goods, computer and telecommunications products and services, car washes and hair salons and barber shops (basic services only), can open.
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