Daily Covid-19 cases ballooned in Malaysia today with the nation recording 4,498 fresh infections in the past 24 hours, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
The last time Malaysia reported over 4,000 cases was on February 4, when 4,571 new infections were recorded.
The director-general of health said that Selangor reported the bulk of the new infections with 1,424 cases, followed by Sarawak with 750 cases and Kuala Lumpur at third place with 436 cases.
Selangor also topped overall cases by state with the new infections bringing its tally to 140,270.
Sabah, which recorded 153 cases today stood second with 58,633 overall cases, and Johor taking the third spot with 47,318 cases.
The total caseload in Malaysia is currently at 432,425.
Meanwhile, the number of patients in intensive care due to Covid-19 reached a record high of 506 today, Dr Noor Hisham said.
He added that 295 people were on respiratory support.
His tweeted figures differ from the official daily tally of 372 cases in ICU released by the Health Ministry earlier today, because his new figure includes probable and suspected Covid-19 cases that have yet to be diagnosed.
This means 134 people are waiting for laboratory reports on their condition.
However, the ministry treats probable and suspected cases as Covid-19 positive, as a precaution.
Dr Noor Hisham said the number of critical cases has increased in the past two weeks, saying this has similarly increased the number of intensive care beds in use.
“The critical case admissions have increased by 44% nationwide in the past two weeks, while some states like Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan and Sarawak have a higher rate.
“There are 22 Covid-19 hospitals where their intensive care bed usage is more than 70%, while some hospitals are at more than 90%,” he said in a Facebook post today.
Dr Noor Hisham also said that some non-Covid-19 hospitals are now treating coronavirus patients who require ventilators, as the designated hospitals are fully occupied.
“There are some patients to whom we have to give ventilation in normal wards,” he said.
Worried over the rising number of daily cases, Dr Noor Hisham said there didn’t appear to be any signs of improvement any time soon.
He also expressed concern about the likelihood of more infections and a greater burden on hospitals with the Hari Raya festive season next week.
He urged the public to always adhere to the standard operating procedures and to register for Covid-19 vaccination.