MALAYSIA today reported a drop in the number of active cases nationwide, from 262,255 yesterday to 260,700 today, ending a 58-day streak of new cases outnumbering recoveries, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.

Today, he said 19,053 people recovered from Covid-19, compared to 17,672 new cases. The last time this happened was on June 25, when 6,775 people recovered and 5,812 new cases were reported.

On August 20, Malaysia reported a record 23,564 infections, while the largest number of people to recover was 21,720 on August 19.

Of the active cases, 1,040 patients are currently in intensive care, with 502 requiring respiratory support, a slight increase from yesterday’s figure.

Noor Hisham said 14,337 – or 81.13% – of the cases today were people who had not been vaccinated or had not completed their vaccinations.

Of these, 6,472 were category 1 (asymptomatic), 7,487 in category 2 (mildly symptomatic) and 161 in category 3 (patients with pneumonia).

There were 96 cases in category 4 (patients requiring oxygen) and 121 in category 5 (critical condition and in need of ventilator support).

For cases of vaccinated people contracting the virus, 1,759 cases were category 1, followed by 1,518 in category 2. There were 29 in category 3, 12 in category 4 and 17 in category 5.

Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said that the country reported 174 Covid-19 deaths today, taking the toll to 14,342.

Of those who succumbed to the illness, 158 were Malaysian.

Selangor, which has been reporting the highest number of fatalities for several months, only reported seven deaths today.

Johor topped the list with 53 deaths, followed by 28 in Penang, 25 in Sabah, 11 in Negri Sembilan, nine each in Kuala Lumpur, Kedah and Kelantan, seven in Pahang, six in Malacca, four in Perak and three each in Sarawak and Perlis.

A total of 21 people were pronounced dead upon arrival, where 14 were Malaysians and seven were foreign nationals. – August 23, 2021.