COVID: 188 new cases in categories three to five

KUALA LUMPUR: Only 188 out of 26,856 new COVID-19 cases recorded Monday (March 7) were in categories three, four and five, said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the other 26,668 cases comprised categories one and two, with the additional new cases bringing the case tally in the country to 3,649,463.

A total of 30,726 recovered cases were reported, bringing the cumulative total of recoveries to 3,311,854.

"Of the 188 categories three, four and five cases reported, 63 cases were unvaccinated or had not been fully vaccinated; 80 cases had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine but had not received a booster dose and 45 cases had received a booster dose," he said in a statement today.

He also informed that for the category three, four and five cases, there were 103 involving those aged 60 and above, 83 with comorbidities and three involving pregnant women.

He said 725 or 38.8 per cent of cases admitted to hospitals yesterday were in categories three, four and five, while 1,144 cases or 61.2 per cent involved categories one and two.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said a total of 368 cases required treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with 223 requiring respiratory assistance.

On ICU bed occupancy in hospitals, he said seven states recorded 50 per cent or more, namely Kelantan (73 per cent), Putrajaya (67 per cent), Kuala Lumpur (62 per cent), Johor (61 per cent), Selangor (60 per cent), Perak (53 per cent) and Labuan (57 per cent).

As for the country's infectivity rate (Rt), Dr Noor Hisham said it was now 1.05, with Sarawak recording the highest Rt of 1.31, followed by Perak (1.21), Kuala Lumpur (1.20) and Terengganu (1.17).

-- BERNAMA