KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — Malaysia recorded a downward trend for average active Covid-19 cases for the 43rd Epidemiological Week (EW).

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said for the 42nd EW from October 24 to 30, the average active cases showed a 15 per cent drop from 83,605 cases (42nd EW) to 70,829 cases (43rd EW).

"Active cases have been dropping since eight weeks ago. Also, new Covid-19 cases show a drop of 2.2 per cent from 41,508 cases (42nd EW) to 40,613 cases (43rd EW).

"The fatality rate however, increased by 5.2 per cent compared to the previous epidemiological week (42nd EW),” he said in a statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said cases requiring intensive care treatment dropped by 12 per cent, from 571 cases throughout the 42nd EW to 505 cases for the 43rd EW.

Also, cases requiring respiratory support dropped by 14.4 per cent, from 250 cases to 214 cases. The decline has been ongoing for the past 11 weeks, he added.

He added Kelantan, Putrajaya and Melaka reported the highest rate of cases for every 10,000 residents.

Meanwhile, 46 clusters were reported in the 43rd EW, 25 of which involved workplaces, education institutions (nine), communities (seven) and high-risk groups (five).

"Education institution clusters rose following the reopening of institutions of higher education during the 41st EW,” he said.

On hospital capacity, Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry (MOH) allocated 26,522 beds at Covid-19 Low-Risk Quarantine and Treatment Centres (PKRC), 14,963 normal ward beds, 1,345 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 2,804 respirators to treat Covid-19 patients, suspected cases and cases under investigation.

He said the occupancy of beds in PKRC, normal wards and ICU show a downward trend of between two and six per cent in the 43rd EW compared to the 42nd EW. — Bernama