M'sia's Covid-19 Numbers Have Increased By Over 200% Since 1st July

Covid-19 numbers increase since the start of July

Covid-19 cases in Malaysia have hovered around the 20,000 mark in recent days, with a record high of 21,668 daily cases reported on 12th August 2021. This is a significant increase from the number of infections recorded at the start of July, a month after the country entered a full lockdown – otherwise known as FMCO – on 1st June.

Daily figures recorded on 1st July neared the 7,000 mark, with 6,988 cases reported. More than a month later, this number has increased by over 200%, while daily death count in the country has spiked 36%. Nonetheless, the country is recording more confirmed Covid-19 cases with mild to no symptoms, while the national infectivity rate dropped to 1.06 on 12th August.

Daily figures significantly increased since 1st July

We’re now in mid-August, almost two months since the government imposed strict lockdown measures in June to help contain the spread of Covid-19. We saw a positive start, as Covid-19 cases dropped by 3.6% two weeks after the FMCO kicked in.

However, the number of infections have since been rising in the country. This is due to several factors such as the emergence of Covid-19 variants, with 424 Delta variants and 209 Beta variants reported in Malaysia, as of 10th August.

Covid-19 numbers in Malaysia see increase - cases
Image credit: Noor Hisham Abdullah

From 1st July to 13th August 2021, Malaysia recorded a total of 611,704 Covid-19 cases. As of 13th August, there has been 1,363,683 confirmed cases reported by Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) in the country since the start of the pandemic, with 241,187 (17.69%) of these infections classified as active cases.

The recent high number of infections, hovering at the 20,000 mark, lent to the increase of Covid-19 numbers during this period. On 1st July, daily figures stood at 6,988 cases, compared to the latest number of 21,468 cases on 13th August.

Daily Covid-19 cases between 1st July and 13th August

Daily death counts between 1st July and 13th August

Daily death cases in the country have also seen a spike since the start of July. On 1st July, the daily new death count recorded was 84. This has since increased by 36%, with 277 new confirmed death cases on 13th August. In all, a total of 11,968 death cases in Malaysia have been reported in the country, according to KKM.

The highest daily death figure in the country yet was 360 cases on 8th August. Of the total death cases in Malaysia, 6,798 cases were recorded between 1st July till 12th August.

In more positive developments on the Covid-19 front, 1,110,528 individuals have recovered from Covid-19 in the country, putting our recovery rate at 81.44%.

Covid-19 numbers in Malaysia see increase - infectivity
Image credit: Noor Hisham Abdullah

Infectivity rates in the country have also dropped. As of 13th August, the national infectivity rate was 1.05 – which indicates that there will be 1.05 new Covid-19 cases with every new positive case confirmed.

This is comparatively lower to the peak infectivity rate of 1.20 recorded on 15th July in the same period spanning 1st July to 13th August. It’s also lower than the infectivity rate of 1.06 reported on 1st July, as shared by KKM.

The current state with the highest infectivity rate is Perlis (1.33), followed by Sabah (1.20) and Kelantan (1.20). Areas with the lowest infectivity rate are Labuan (0.64), Putrajaya (0.95), Selangor (1.00) and KL (1.02).

Most new cases are categorised as those with mild to no symptoms

Likewise, most new Covid-19 cases reported in Malaysia have been classified under category one and two. These categories signify that the confirmed Covid-19 patient has mild to no symptoms, while those in categories three to five go from showing mild symptoms or having to be admitted to the ICU.

Covid-19 numbers in Malaysia see increase - cases
Image credit: Noor Hisham Abdullah

To put this into perspective, of the total 21,468 new Covid-19 cases on 13th August, most of the confirmed cases – 9,956 (46.3%) – were classified in category one.

Showing that vaccination indeed helps with keeping Covid-19 at bay, 8,817 infections in this group cropped up among unvaccinated individuals.

Meanwhile, 271 (1.3%) of cases were in category five, and a majority of these infected individuals are unvaccinated.

Increase in Covid-19 numbers since the start of July

Infectivity rates dropping in the country, and more cases showing no symptoms are both positive signs of recovery, despite the rising number of infections. Still, we should all continue to keep our guards up against Covid-19, and adhere to safety measures to do our part in the fight against the pandemic.