COVID-19: Malaysia records two new cases, lowest since MCO enforced - Health D-G

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the two new cases took the cumulative number of infections in the country to 8,338, with 1,206 active cases being treated in isolation.

“Of the two new cases reported, one is an import case infected from overseas.

"Another case was recorded involving a non-citizen, reported in Kuching, Sarawak, namely one of the close contacts with case number 8303," he said during the daily press conference on COVID-19 here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said another death was recorded today, bringing the total to 118, or 1.42 per cent of the total number of cases.

He said the 118th death (case number 824) was a 61-year-old Malaysian with a history of diabetes and kidney disease.

“He had also attended the (tabligh) gathering in Seri Petaling. He was admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital on March 15 and pronounced dead on June 10 at 7.03 am. MoH extends its condolences to his family members,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said 39 cases had recovered and allowed to return home today, taking the tally of those fully recovered from the disease to 7,014.

He added that five cases were currently being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with none requiring breathing assistance.

At the press conference, Dr Noor Hisham also touched on the increasing number of road crashes during the implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) as compared to the MCO period.

He said according to police statistics, the total number of road crashes during phase one of the MCO from March 18 to March 31 was 5,498, with 58 deaths.

“This means that the daily rate of crashes was 392.7. By comparison, this number rose to 738 crashes per day when the CMCO came into force on May 4, 2020.

“Police data also shows that from May 5, 2020, to May 12, 2020, the number of road crashes was 5,904 cases, with 68 deaths, and from May 13, 2020 to June 9, 2020, there were 25,251 crashes recorded with 231 deaths," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said preliminary statistics on cases of accidents or trauma treated in hospitals showed a decrease of between 65 and 75 per cent for all states during the MCO, compared to the period prior to its enforcement.

However, he said the number had increased by 30 per cent during the CMCO as more vehicles were on the road, and this was a concern for MoH following the reopening of various economic and social sectors in the country.

Dr Noor Hisham said accidents had serious consequences such as loss of life, lifelong disability or loss of limbs, besides negatively impacting hospital services, and therefore advised people to be careful on the road and avoid driving if they were tired or feeling drowsy.