KUALA LUMPUR: The number of new COVID-19 cases dropped by 14.5 per cent to 22,822 during the 33rd Epidemiology Week (ME 33/2022) from Aug 14 to 20.

Health director-general, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that during the same period, 55 deaths were recorded due to the viral infection, down by 8.3 per cent from the previous week's figure.

"Cases that recovered during ME 33/2022 also dropped by 8.5 per cent to 26,458 from 28,905.

"The average number of active daily cases during ME 33/2022 was 42,010, down by six per cent from the previous week's figure," he said in a statement on the COVID-19 infection situation, here, today.

On the admission of COVID-19 patients to the public hospitals and Low-Risk COVID-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centres (PKRC) for every 100,000 residents involving patient 1 and 2 categories, the drop was five per cent while it was 15.4 per cent involving patients of categories 3, 4 and 5 during the same period.

Dr Noor Hisham said bed occupancy at the intensive care units during ME33/2022 increased by five per cent, with the rate for non-critical cases up by one per cent while there was no change in the bed occupancy rate at the PKRCs.

The number of COVID-19 patients requiring breathing aid rose by 0.3 per cent during ME33/2022 from the number during ME32/2022, while the number of COVID-19 positive cases nationwide monitored by the COVID-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) showed a slight drop.

"Patients' arrival at the CAC decreased by 5.4 per cent, new cases monitored at home was down by 9.9 per cent and those referred by the CAC to the hospitals dropped by 21.3 per cent, while the average Rt rate showed a drop of 3.1 per cent.

"The COVID-19 surveillance at the COVID-19 sentinel locations nationwide found 101 samples of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) to be COVID-19 positive at the rate of 14.0 per cent while no samples of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) were found to be COVID-19 positive, with the rate remaining at 1.8 per cent during ME33/2022.

-- BERNAMA