THE recent spike in Covid-19 infections and deaths in the country is a worrying trend as they are tied to sporadic cases and not linked to any clusters, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The Health Director-General said during the 13th epidemiological week (up till April 3), the number of sporadic cases reported were 8,968 or 52% of the total number of cases reported.

He said this figure has been on an upward trend, with the country reporting a record number of 52,040 sporadic cases on the 22nd epidemiological week (up till June 5).

This accounted for 84.3% of the total number of infections.

The epidemiological week is the standardised method of counting to allow for the comparison of collected Covid-19 data.

Noor Hisham said the number of deaths that are related to sporadic cases have also been on the rise between weeks 13 and 22.

During week 13, of the 35 deaths that were reported, 26 were linked to sporadic cases.

Meanwhile in week 22, of the 641 deaths reported, 559 were from sporadic cases.

He said one of the factors that have contributed to the rise of sporadic cases and deaths linked to it is the emergence of new coronavirus variants in the community.

These variants, Noor Hisham said, have a higher infectivity rate and contribute to more deaths.

He said these new variants could be present in malls and workplaces and urged the public to be vigilant.

Besides not going out unnecessarily and wearing masks, the D-G now recommends double-masking in crowded areas and an additional layer of face shield when visiting high-risk places such as hospitals.

Today, the country reported 87 deaths, a dip after reporting four straight days of over 100 fatalities.

A total of 3,378 deaths have been reported since the start of the pandemic.

However, the number of Covid-19 patients being treated at the intensive care units (ICU) is at an all-time high of 890 patients, yet another record broken as the pandemic worsens.

Previously, the highest number of patients in the ICU was 886.

Noor Hisham Abdullah said 444 patients in the ICU are currently on respiratory support. – June 6, 2021.