This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 17, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has recorded 110 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the country’s total cases to 5,182 as of noon yesterday, according to Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The number of daily recoveries came in at 119, which exceeded the number of new cases for the eight time since the outbreak was detected in the country. This has raised the country’s total recoveries to 2,766 or 53.4% of total cases, Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement.

The death toll, meanwhile, gained one more to 84 yesterday. The latest fatality was a 66-year-old Malaysian man who had a history of heart disease and high blood pressure. He was admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on April 9 and was pronounced dead at 12.55pm on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, 56 people are in intensive care, with 29 of them requiring respiratory support.

Selangor remains the worst-hit state, with 1,329 confirmed infections, followed by Kuala Lumpur (952), Johor (614) and Negeri Sembilan (389).

Senior citizens urged to seek immediate treatment even for mild symptoms

Dr Noor Hisham said senior citizens should seek immediate treatment even if they have mild ailments such as sore throat, cough, fever or cold.

This is because in the event that they have contracted Covid-19, early treatment would boost their recovery rate, he said, adding the mortality rate from the respiratory illness is highest among senior citizens and those with chronic illnesses.

According to him, about 62.6% of people who had died from Covid-19 were aged 60 and above, and 80.7% of them had diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart problems and other ailments.

While the number of infections is highest among those aged 20-24 years old, he said two age groups demonstrated the highest likelihood of contracting the disease – namely, 55-59 years old, and 60-64 years old.

Based on incidence per 100,000 people, those in the 20-24 year-old group accounted for 16.3% of infections, while the 50-59 year-old group made up 31.5% of cases; and the 60-64 year-old group accounted for 32.5%.

Dr Noor Hisham said younger members of the household must ensure that their older folk get immediate treatment if they are feeling unwell, make it to their health appointments, have adequate supply of medicine and daily necessities, and maintain hygiene and social distancing of at least one metre.