THE number of patients in intensive care due to Covid-19 reached a record high of 506 today, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.

He added that 295 people were on respiratory support.

His tweeted figures differ from the official daily tally of 372 cases in ICU released by the Health Ministry earlier today, because his new figure includes probable and suspected Covid-19 cases that have yet to be diagnosed.

This means 134 people are waiting for laboratory reports on their condition.

However, the ministry treats probable and suspected cases as Covid-19 positive, as a precaution.

Noor Hisham said the number of critical cases has increased in the past two weeks, saying this has similarly increased the number of intensive care beds in use.

“The critical case admissions have increased by 44% nationwide in the past two weeks, while some states like Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan and Sarawak have a higher rate.

“There are 22 Covid-19 hospitals where their intensive care bed usage is more than 70%, while some hospitals are at more than 90%,” he said in a Facebook post today.

Noor Hisham also said that some non-Covid-19 hospitals are now treating coronavirus patients who require ventilators, as the designated hospitals are fully occupied.

“There are some patients to whom we have to give ventilation in normal wards,” he said.

Worried over the rising number of daily cases, Noor Hisham said there didn’t appear to be any signs of improvement any time soon.

He also expressed concern about the likelihood of more infections and greater burden on hospitals with the Hari Raya festive season next week.

He urged the public to always adhere to the standard operating procedures and to register for Covid-19 vaccination. 

There were 4,498 new infections today, the first time there have been more than 4,000 daily cases since February 4, when there were 4,571 cases. – May 7, 2021.