AS the coronavirus death toll reaches 100 today, with 5,851 people infected, here are the latest figures and some fast facts supplied by the man at the centre of Malaysia’s battle with Covid-19, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah 

Who are the people most at risk of infection?

The worst vulnerable people are senior citizens and those with comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

Most deaths were of patients who went to the hospital at stage three of the infection, when they have some form of pneumonia but do not yet need respiratory aid.

These cases tend to deteriorate quickly to stage four when oxygen is required, and to stage five when they need to be intubated and put on a ventilator.

More men than women have died primarily because men who attended the March tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling, the largest Covid-19 cluster in the country.

The death rate is about 1.7%.

What is the capacity of our public healthcare?

Malaysia is said to be in the recovery phase after having flattened the curve of Covid-19 infections. Malaysia passed the peak on April 4 with 217 infections, which is attributed to the MCO enforced on March 18.

Prior to the MCO, there were 26 designated Covid-19 hospitals which combined had 3,400 beds and 300 beds in the intensive care unit.

On March 29, the number of beds was increased to 19,200 with the addition of the Health Ministry’s training institutes across the country.

The Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (Maeps) was converted into a field hospital, while the number of Covid-19 designated hospitals nationwide has grown to 32.

As of April 27, Covid-19 cases took up less than 30% of the hospital capacity, thanks to the MCO’s success in containing the outbreak.

The number of Covid-19 patients in ICU and who are intubated has also been decreasing. 

What comes after flattening the curve?

The MCO has allowed Malaysia to avoid JP Morgan’s projected peak of 6,300 cumulative cases on April 14. Instead, Malaysia saw the peak on April 3 with a daily new infections of 217.

Prior to the MCO, the R-naught (R0) or infection rate was at 3.55 – meaning one positive case could infect up to 3.55 people.

After April 14, the domestic R0 rate dropped to less than one.

R-naught represents the number of new infections estimated to originate from a single case.

For now, Malaysia is aiming to reduce the daily new cases to the single digits.

Malaysia in the last few days has reported double digit growth of new cases.

Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is the National Security Council spokesman, has said the government is looking at an exit plan to lift restrictions and allow economic sectors to re-open in stages.

Is mass testing an option?

This is a question that frequently pops up at Noor Hisham’s daily press briefings, the reply to which is that the Health Ministry is sticking with a targeted approach that identifies high-risk groups and target locations.

This is why an enhanced movement control order (EMCO) was imposed on residential buildings in Kuala Lumpur, a village in Hulu Langat, Selangor, and two villages in Simpang Renggam, Johor.

The targeted approach allows health officials to isolate and ensure that everyone in a locality is screened.

How long is the wait for Covid-19 test results?

The polymerise chain reaction test – the most reliable and accurate test – takes at least six hours to yield results but if the number of cases grows, it could take up to 24 to 48 hours to get a report.

Malaysia is in the midst of procuring rapid test kits from South Korea which could yield results in one to two hours.

The ministry also aims to increase testing capacity to about 22,000 tests a day by next week, from the current 16,635 tests a day at public and private laboratories combined. 

Where do non-virus patients go now for medical attention?

Non-Covid-19 patients, including surgical cases, are referred to non-virus designated hospitals.

Sungai Buloh Hospital is one example of a designated Covid-19 facility that does not treat non-virus patients during this time.

Non-virus patients may also be sent to private hospitals after health officials negotiate prices.

Is there a shortage of personal protective equipment?

The government has consistently assured the public of sufficient stock and that procurement is an on-going process.

Complaints from doctors on the ground about personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages have been explained away as  “distribution problems” rather than actual lack.

The Health Ministry welcomes contributions of PPE as usage has increased tenfold in the pandemic. – April 28, 2020.