KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 21): Public hospitals as well as quarantine and low-risk treatment centres in Selangor and Putrajaya are seeing more Covid-19 admissions after the lifting of the interstate travel ban.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the total number of Covid-19 patients in the Klang Valley, particularly in Selangor and Putrajaya, was on the rise since the government lifted the travel ban on Oct 11.

He was referring to the Ministry of Health's (MoH) graph on the number of patients’ admissions in health facilities per 100,000 population.

A similar situation was also seen in Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan, where admissions of Category 3,4 and 5 Covid-19 patients increased following the relaxation of the travel ban.

“The recent rise in hospital admissions in Klang Valley is of concern to the Ministry,” Khairy said at a media briefing on Thursday.

“We will now expand our booster programme to senior citizens who received the Sinovac vaccination. They will be offered a heterologous booster from Pfizer three months after their second dose.

“In order to manage the rise in the leading indicator of hospital admissions, the MoH would like to advise senior citizens to avoid crowded areas and be careful when attending social functions or settings which involve taking off their masks, like dining in,” added Khairy.

The Minister said the interstate travel ban will not be re-imposed despite the rise in admissions in public hospitals and quarantine centers.

“At the moment, there are no plans to impose interstate travel restrictions as we have just given the freedom to the public.

“I have discussed with Tan Sri [Dr Noor Hisham]. The data shows that our public health system is not yet at breaking point. But we are giving an early warning that the leading indicator is not that good.

"By the time we issue a warning when our health care system is at breaking point, I think it's already too late. [To] live with the virus, we have to do our part," Khairy added.

Malaysia’s new Covid-19 cases rose to 6,210 on Thursday — up 12.58% from 5,516 infections reported on Wednesday — after staying below the 6,000 mark for three consecutive days.