MALAYSIA’S infectivity rate (Rt) has gone up due to the emergence of new Covid-19 variants in the country, said Health Minister Dr Adham Baba.

The Delta, Beta and Alpha variants are now prevalent in the community, he told an online press conference today.

“Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan are the most affected by these variants of concern,” he said at the joint press conference with the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin.

The Delta variant originated from India, the Beta variant from South Africa and the Alpha variant is from the United Kingdom.

The Rt currently stands at 1.04, after having stayed below 1.0 from June 6-27.

Adham said as of yesterday, Malaysia had carried out 17,651,154 Covid-19 tests, which returned a positivity rate of 5.64%.

“We have been able to detect this positivity rate through targeted mass testing as well as mass testing that is being done on the state level.

“In areas where there is an enhanced movement-control order (EMCO), we are also testing the whole population in that area to isolate those who are positive and break the chain of infection.

“By doing this, we are confident that the positivity rate will continue to drop,” he said.

Malaysia’s positivity rate has so far been consistent above the 5% mark set by the World Health Organization.

Adham said Malaysia is currently conducting an average of 72,000 Covid-19 tests daily, although it has the capacity to conduct 130,000 tests. – June 30, 2021.