Universiti Sains Malaysia virologist Kumitaa Theva Das said Penang had 105.2 cases per 100,000 population, which surpassed Selangor’s 104.8 on Aug 18.
Kumitaa said the case against population number was a true picture of the Covid-19 situation in any given area.
“For example, if area A has only 10 people, and all 10 people are infected, then those are extremely high numbers. Contrast that to area B with a higher population, say of one million people, and 10 are infected. Even though both areas have 10 cases, B is doing better,” she told FMT
She said that despite the total number of cases being lower than that of Selangor and Sabah, Penang has the highest number of incidences per 100,000 population in Malaysia. Selangor and Sabah recorded 4,645 and 3,376 cases, respectively, yesterday.
Penang’s health department revealed that for the week from Aug 18 to 24, there were 646 cases per 100,000 population in the state.
Seberang Perai Central district fared the worst at 1,074 cases out of a 100,000 population, while Seberang Perai South was at 1,004 and Seberang Perai North at 697. On the island, the Southwest district recorded 557 and Northeast 272.
Most of the infections are from factories and symptomatic and sporadic cases, it was reported.
End nowhere in sight
Kumitaa said the end of the current surge in Penang is nowhere close, taking into account daily cases and the stress put on the healthcare system.
She said the closure of the outpatient clinics at the Penang Hospital to make way for Covid-19 wards in the first week of August was the first telltale sign of the serious rise in cases.
Further contributing to the higher numbers are the faster RTK-antigen tests as opposed to RT-PCR tests where results might take a day or two to be processed. Antigen test results are ready in about 30 minutes.
She said RTK-antigen testing is the right move for Penang as its positivity rate is above 10%. This figure is higher than the World Health Organization’s threshold of 5% for Covid-19 positivity rates.
Kumitaa said one way forward is to ramp up the vaccination rate in Penang, which is lower than the Klang Valley.
She said the find-test-trace-isolate-support (FTTIS) model is the best way to contain the cases when a large percentage of Penang’s numbers are sporadic.
“Many may not even realise they have been infected until they get tested. So, Penang shifting to rapid testing is definitely a good move to screen and isolate as many people as quickly as possible,” she said.
Currently, 47.1% of Penangites are fully vaccinated and 80% of the 1.3 million population are expected to be given their first doses by next Monday.
Kumitaa said one can look at Labuan to see how vaccines have worked against the prevalent Delta strain. From 1,000 new cases weekly per 100,000 population, it has been reduced to single-digit cases of late, she said.
CLICK HERE FOR OUR LIVE UPDATE OF THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA