KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Malaysia is experiencing a surge in Covid-19 infections again in the week preceding the Hari Raya Haji holiday this Sunday, just days after the Health Ministry warned of two emerging highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants in the country.

The Health Ministry recorded a total of 4,020 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, with nine of them being import cases.

The latest figure shows a rise in the number of cases over the past week, with 1,918 cases recorded on Monday, 2,932 on Tuesday and 3,561 on Wednesday.

This also marks the first time in nearly three months that more than 4,000 cases have been recorded in a day since 4,006 cases were logged on April 24.

According to the Health Ministry’s CovidNow portal, the increase in the number has brought the number of active cases to 33,839 as of midnight.

The portal also reported three new deaths due to the coronavirus, increasing the cumulative number of lives lost in the country to 35,795; two of them died outside hospital facilities.

Currently, a total of 32,617 people or 96.4 per cent are undergoing Covid-19 quarantine at home.

Those placed at the Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centres total 21.

Those under treatment in hospitals nationwide amount to 1,156 patients, with 45 warded in intensive care units.

The Health Ministry recorded 1,718 recoveries as of yesterday.

The ministry first issued a public advisory about the two new sub-variants of the Omicron strain — Omicron BA.4 and Omicron BA.5 — on July 4.

It reminded Malaysians to stick to Covid-19 infection prevention measures and conduct regular self-testing to cut the spread of the disease.