Covid-19 situation not encouraging, says health minister

Chances of achieving the projection of daily Covid-19 cases dropping to around 500 in May have not been encouraging, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said today, adding that the current situation is in fact worrying.

He attributed this to lax compliance with SOPs despite the emphasis on public cooperation in ensuring strict adherence with these measures.

At a news conference on developments in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme with coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin in Putrajaya, Adham said the country’s infectivity rate (Rt) is currently 1.06.

He said the health ministry would try to ensure that all preventive measures are implemented as a priority, noting that Sarawak, Penang, Selangor and Johor have been seeing an increase in number of cases.

The ministry previously projected that daily cases could drop to 500 in May at an Rt of less than 1.0.

Malaysia recorded 1,739 daily Covid-19 positive cases on April 11.

On the situation in Sarawak, Adham said the Rt there is currently 1.08 with the trend showing cause for concern. Of the 1,739 cases recorded nationwide yesterday, 444 were reported in Sarawak.

Adham said based on the monitoring and analysis done for 2021, Sarawak had shown an increase in cases since Jan 9.

He added that 39 clusters had been detected in the state since early this year, involving community-linked gatherings and other social activities, as well as interdistrict travel.

He said he and several senior ministry officers would travel to Sarawak today to discuss immediate measures to be taken and the resources needed including manpower, medical and personal protective equipment, and other logistics such as lab test requirements.