HEALTH Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad stated that the number of Covid-19 cases for Epidemiology Week from December 17-22 increased to 22,413 cases, compared to 17,307 cases in the previous week, marking a 29.5% increase.

“During the same period, the number of Covid-19 deaths was reported to have dropped by 23.1%, from 26 deaths to 20,” he said in a statement today.

Dzulkefly said overall, the number of patients admitted to health facilities, namely non-critical beds increased by 1.5% and the filling of ICU beds rose to 3.6%.

He said for the vaccine yesterday, only 50 people received the first booster dose while 120 people got the second one.

He said cumulatively as of yesterday, only 16,347,130 Malaysians (50.1%) had received the first booster dose and only 828,686 (2.5%) had the second one.

Dzulkefly said the Health Ministry will continue to monitor the situation and take immediate and appropriate action if necessary.

The ministry also advises the public to practise good self-assessment and control, including ensuring personal hygiene to avoid contracting infectious diseases including Covid-19, he said.

He said people need to exercise civic responsibility to protect not only themselves but their families and the entire community, especially high-risk groups. – Bernama, December 23, 2023