By Ashwin Kumar
SHAH ALAM, March 25 — The number of Covid-19 cases in the country has climbed to 1,796 as there are 172 new positive cases recorded as of noon, today.
In a special Covid-19 address to the nation, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that in the past week alone, 673 new cases had been reported.
“This means the number of cases has doubled up within a week and the number of deaths has also increased to 17, which includes a medical doctor,” he said in the special broadcast today.
Muhyiddin said following a briefing with the National Security Council and the Health Ministry, the trend has shown a spike in new Covid-19 positive cases.
He stressed that the government cannot take the implementation of the current movement control order lightly and would have to step up the efforts to contain the virus outbreak.
“Efforts to contain the virus must be continued before Malaysia can fully break the chain of Covid-19 infections that are still rising,” he said.
He said Health Ministry had also taken certain measures, including preparing 3,585 beds in 34 hospitals for Covid-19 patients.
“At this moment, 34 per cent of hospital beds are utilised, which leaves a remaining 66 per cent to accommodate other patients.”
Muhyiddin said several temporary isolation centres have been identified in the event of a sudden increase of new cases.
He said the Health Ministry had stepped up its screening capacity, which includes mass testing at high-risk areas.
“This means that the public’s movement must continue to be controlled. The government’s strategy is to seek, test, isolate and treat Covid-19 patients.
“The Health Ministry will, therefore, increase their capacity to conduct screening tests on a larger scale. This includes conducting mass testing, particularly in high-risk areas,” he said.
