PUTRAJAYA APRIL 4: The COVID-19 death toll has risen to 57 with the additional of four deaths today while 150 new cases are recorded bringing the accumulative total of 3,483 cases.
Director General of Health, Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdiullah said, the death rate is 1.64% while 915 patients have been discharged or 26% from the total number of positive cases.
Dr. Noor Hisham reported, from 150 new cases, 80 were the participants of the tabligh assembly held in Sri Petaling Mosque in February.
“From the new cases, 99 patients have been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while 50 are in need of respiratory aids,” he said in a press conference here today.
Dr. Noor Hisham said, 1,545 cases or 44.36% from the total number of positive cases are linked to the tabligh assembly. The corona virus is either being spread among family members, contacts in the mosque or at the “tahfiz madrasah.”
Elaborating on the tabligh participants, Dr. Noor Hisham said 12,000 people have done the health scanning tests but 3,000 is still at large and most probably some of them have gone to India and Indonesia.
“The Ministry of Health is trying to trace 40,000 people including family members and contact persons of COVID-19 positive. The effort is being carried out with the cooperation of the police and some non-governmental organisations (NGOs),” he added.
On the question of whether the Movement Control Order (MCO) will be extended, Dr. Noor Hisham said, only by April 10, the data of COVID-19 will determine whether MCO will be extended or otherwise and it all depends on the social discipline of the people.
“The prediction of Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) that says by mid April the number of cases will be 400 per day is not happening as today only 150 cases are recorded,” he reiterated.
On the ruling of visitors and Malaysians coming back from overseas to be quarantined for 14 days, Dr. Noor Hisham said, at present 752 people have been quarantined in the selected hotel and 8 persons have been detected with COVID-19 positive and they have been isolated for further treatment.
Regarding the research on the vaccine for COVID-19 that Malaysia has been chosen as one of the participants by World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Noor Hisham said, the vaccine can only be released in the market for at least one year or more. –Malaysia World News
