SIX out of every 1,000 people infected with Covid-19 in Malaysia may succumb to the virus.

According to an infographic from the Health Ministry, this translates into a case fatality rate of 0.6%.

About 64% of Covid-19 deaths reported in the country involved senior citizens aged 60 and above while 87% had underlying health conditions.

Commenting on this, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this is why it is important to protect vulnerable groups such as senior citizens and those with comorbidity. 

Noor Hisham said it was important to ensure those travelling to their hometowns are not carriers of the infection, so that it does not spread to the elderly. 

“They have a high risk of getting an infection. The reason being is that those with comorbidities and the elderly, have antibodies that are not as strong as the younger age group (or healthy),” he said. 

He said health authorities are also looking at vulnerable groups, such as those in old folks’ homes, the Orang Asli and long house communities. 

The infographic also revealed 65% of Covid-19 deaths were among men while 35% were women. 

Two deaths were reported today, raising the national toll of fatalities to 337. The deaths were of a 80-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman, both in Sabah. – November 23, 2020.