Malaysia overtakes Myanmar for 3rd worst-hit Covid-19 nation in Asean

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Jan 2021:

Malaysia has now recorded the third highest tally of Covid-19 cases within Southeast Asia, as today’s overall total of 128,465 infections had surpassed Myanmar’s 128,178 cases.

Coming in fifth with less than half the number of infections is Singapore at 58,813 cases – followed by Thailand (9,636), Vietnam (1,509), Cambodia (385), Brunei (173), Timor-Leste (49)  and Laos (41)

Worst hit is Indonesia with 797,723 cases while Philippines recorded 482,083 infections.

In a Facebook post, Malaysia’s Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a forecast done till May 31 based on the infectivity rate or R-nought (R0) of 1.2 and 1.2 showed a worrying rise in in new Covid-19 infections.

“With R0 of 1.1, new daily Covid-19 cases would have exceeded 3,000 in the second week of February while the R0 of 1.2 meant earlier arrival of 3,000 infections in the fourth week of January, with about 5,000 new daily cases by the third week of February and around 8,000 cases at the third week of March.”

Meanwhile, Indonesia recorded the highest number of 9,321 daily Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, Bernama reported, This brings its overall positive cases to 797,723 with 68,753 patients under surveillance for the virus.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo, in a video uploaded to the presidential secretariat’s official YouTube channel, raised the possibility of reimposing the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) or total lockdown, if the new Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

Based on data posted on the official Twitter page of the Indonesian National Disaster Management Authority @BNPB_Indonesia today, another 224 fatalities were also reported in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s death toll to 23,520.

Jakarta remains the province with the highest number of cases with 197,699 infections so far, 2,398 of them reported overnight.

East Java, meanwhile, has the highest number of fatalities with 6,241 deaths, including 68 more in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Thailand recorded 305 new Covid-19 cases and one death over the last 24 hours, bringing the tally in the kingdom to 9,636 cases and 67 fatalities.

The single fatality involved an 88-year-old Thai man with cancer. He caught the virus from his son who visited a high-risk area in Rayong province and died at the hospital yesterday.

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration spokesman, Thaweesilp Wissanuyothin said of the 305 new Covid-19 cases, 193 were local transmissions, 109 were active cases detected in Samut Sakhon while three were imported cases. “To date, 5,115 patients are still receiving treatment at hospitals and migrant worker dormitories.”

The latest outbreak in Thailand which started at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon in mid-December has spread to 56 provinces in the kingdom.

The other clusters detected in the kingdom included illegal gambling dens in Rayong, cockfighting rings in Ang Thong and several entertainment outlets in the Pin Klao area of Bangkok.