KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 99.4 per cent or 32,617 cases of a total of 32,800 new COVID-19 cases recorded yesterday (March 11) were in categories one and two, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said of the total, 12,726 cases or 38.80 per cent were in category one while 19,891 cases (60.64 per cent) were in category two.

"A total of 70 cases or 0.21 per cent were in category three, 78 cases (0.24 per cent) in category four and 35 cases (0.11 per cent) in category five, bringing the total percentage of these three categories to 0.56 per cent," he said in a statement today.

According to Dr Noor Hisham, the infectivity rate or Rt recorded nationwide as of yesterday was at 1.03, a slight drop from 1.04 recorded on Thursday (March 10).

He also said that yesterday, a total of 2,135 COVID-19 cases were admitted to public hospitals with 833 cases (39 per cent) being in categories three, four and five, while 1,302 cases (61 per cent) were in categories one and two.

Dr Noor Hisham said COVID-19 positive individuals in category 2B and above, (whether at high risk or not) or have worsening symptoms, are required to go to the nearest COVID-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) or hospital for further examination without having to wait for calls from the centre.

Category 2B is those with persistent fever for two days or more, breathing difficulty when doing activities, chest pain, loss of appetite, tiredness, or experiencing worsening symptoms (cough, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea), low level of consciousness and less urination within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said as of yesterday, seven states have recorded more than 50 per cent occupancy rates in the critical and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds due to COVID-19, namely Kelantan at 75 per cent, Johor (68 per cent), Putrajaya (67 per cent), Kuala Lumpur (58 per cent), Selangor (57 per cent), Penang (51 per cent), and Melaka (50 per cent).

-- BERNAMA