A TOTAL of 850 patients were admitted to hospitals for Covid-19 yesterday, as the number of hospitalisations continued its downward trend for the fourth straight day, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.

Among the hospitalisations, Category 2 patients accounted for the most at 409, followed by Category 4 (196), Category 3 (142), Category 1 (79) and Category 5 (24). 

Noor Hisham said categories 1 and 2 patients would be admitted if they were deemed high-risk and in need of observation.

Selangor, which reported more than half of the 16,863 new cases yesterday, was the only state to report triple-digit admissions at 189.

Other states and territories reporting new admissions were Johor (89), Perak (80), Sarawak (73), Penang (66), Kelantan (59), Kuala Lumpur (56), Pahang (46), Kedah (45), Terengganu (35), Negri Sembilan (32), Sabah (27), Putrajaya (24), Malacca (17), Perlis (11) and Labuan (1). 

Noor Hisham said that 838 people were discharged yesterday. 

Meanwhile, of the 16,863 new cases reported yesterday, only 100 were in the serious categories of 3, 4 and 5. 

A total of 16,763 of the infections were mild and were in categories 1 and 2. 

“Of the 100 serious cases, 30 were of those who were either not vaccinated or have not completed their vaccinations. 

“Forty-four of them have received two doses of vaccination but have not taken their booster jabs, while the remaining 26 have received their booster shot. 

“Of the 100, 69 of the patients are aged 60 and above, and 63 have co-morbidities,” Noor Hisham elaborated on the serious cases yesterday. 

On intensive care unit utilisation (ICU) related to Covid-19, Noor Hisham said two states or territories have breached the 50% mark.  

Usage in Kuala Lumpur was the highest at 63%, followed by Selangor at 52%. 

On the bed take-up rate for Covid-19 cases, Noor Hisham said of the 12,348 beds available for non-critical cases, 5,179, or 42% were occupied. 

Of the 882 beds in ICU, 299 (34%) were occupied while 1,032 (10%) of the 10,452 beds in low-risk quarantine centres were in use. – March 28, 2022.