PRESS STATEMENT
MINISTRY OF HEALTH MALAYSIA
UPDATES ON THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19)
SITUATION IN MALAYSIA
Current Status of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Who Have Recovered
12 May 2020 – The Ministry of Health (MOH) would like to inform that 110 cases have fully recovered and discharged well today. Cumulatively, 5,223 confirmed COVID-19 cases have fully recovered (77.5% of total cumulative cases).
Current Situation of COVID-19 in Malaysia
12 May 2020, 12 pm – A total of 16 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported to the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) MOH today, of which nine (9) cases are amongst non-Malaysians. This is the lowest number of additional cases reported of late. Of these 16 cases, 3 are imported cases and 13 cases are due to local transmission.
Cumulatively there are now 6,742 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Malaysia. Therefore, there are currently 1,410 active and infective COVID-19 cases.
Currently, 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases are receiving treatment in intensive care units (ICU), and of these, three (3) cases are on ventilation support.
Fortunately, no additional COVID-19 death was reported to the National CPRC MOH today. Cumulatively, there remains 109 COVID-19 deaths in Malaysia (1.62% of total cumulative cases).
International Nurses Day, 12 May 2020
In conjunction with the International Nurses Day today, 12 May 2020, MOH would like to thank all nurses in Malaysia.
This year’s theme, “A Voice to Lead: Nursing The World To Health”, is in honour of the contributions and sacrifices of all dedicated and steadfast nurses in facing the challenges of the COVID-19 infection in Malaysia. You are the unsung heroes and MOH is always grateful for your service and dedication.
Current Status of Surveillance Activities on the Transmission of COVID-19 Infection in the Community
Surveillance activities act as an early warning and early detection system for COVID-19 infection in Malaysia.
The surveillance activities include:
- Clinical surveillance i.e. detection and sampling of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) patients in sentinel locations (MOH health clinics) nationwide and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) patients in all MOH hospitals.
As of the 18th epidemiology week, a total of 9,010 samples were taken from ILI and SARI patients. Of these, 81 samples were positive for COVID-19 (0.9%):
- ILI patients: 14 COVID-19 positive cases out of 1,594 samples (0.88%)
- SARI patients: 67 COVID-19 positive cases out of 7,416 samples (0.9%)
Overall, there was a decrease in the COVID-19 positive cases detected through SARI. During the 13th epidemiology week, the positive rate was 8.7% (25 cases detected from 288 SARI samples). Meanwhile, during the 18th epidemiology week, the positive rate was 0.13% (1 case detected from 772 SARI samples).
This suggests that the detection of COVID-19 cases amongst serious and moderately serious SARI patients is decreasing.
- COVID-19 screening amongst MOH healthcare workers (HCWs). As of 12 May 2020, a total of 11,470 samples were taken, of which 65 MOH HCWs were found positive for COVID-19.
- COVID-19 screening of all patients before undergoing emergency and semi-emergency surgery at MOH hospitals. As of 12 May 2020, 7 cases were found positive for COVID-19 out of 8,528 patients screened (0.08%).
MOH also conducts analysis of passive surveillance, that includes notifications received at the National CPRC MOH for cases detected from Person Under Investigation (PUI) from both MOH and private healthcare facilities. To date, 95 positive cases have been detected from 30,155 tests conducted in the private laboratories (0.32%).
The surveillance activities in the country have been proactively strengthened, however the positive rates detected through these surveillance activities are low. Nevertheless, MOH urges the public not to be complacent with this declining trend. Again, MOH would like to emphasise that the public’s compliance to the new normal and norms is very important in determining the number of COVID-19 positive cases in Malaysia.
The surveillance activities will continue so as to achieve its intended purpose as an early warning system and will be further strengthened over time with the addition of new ILI sentinel sites to detect COVID-19 in the community.
Health Advisory on COVID-19
Therefore, Malaysians will have to continue to play their part in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by:
- Avoid leaving the house, except for important matters
- Practice safe social distancing of at least 1 metre away from others
- Avoid the practice of visiting houses, including during the festive seasons, to protect the health and safety of the community, especially older adults, infants and children
- Maintain optimal levels of hygiene at all times, such as frequent hand washing with water and soap or with hand sanitisers
- It is recommended to wear face masks in public areas or crowded places
MOH will continue to monitor the development of the COVID-19 situation, both in the country as well as internationally, based on available information from the World Health Organization (WHO). The public will be continuously updated on the latest information. In addition, MOH will ensure that appropriate preventive and control measures are continuously implemented.
Thank you.
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah
Director General of Health Malaysia
12 May 2020 @ 4.30 pm
Number of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in Malaysia, by States
(Cumulative, as of 12 May 2020, 12 pm)
| State | No. of New Cases * | Cumulative |
| Perlis | 0 | 18 |
| Kedah | 0 | 95 |
| Pulau Pinang | 0 | 121 |
| Perak | 0 | 255 |
| Selangor | 3 (1) | 1,610 |
| Negeri Sembilan | 0 | 742 |
| Melaka | 0 | 211 |
| Johor | 0 | 667 |
| Pahang | 0 | 312 |
| Terengganu | 0 | 110 |
| Kelantan | 0 | 155 |
| Sabah | 1 | 328 |
| Sarawak | 0 | 543 |
| WP Kuala Lumpur | 12 (2) | 1,470 |
| WP Putrajaya | 0 | 89 |
| WP Labuan | 0 | 16 |
| Total | 16 (3) | 6,742 |
*( ) refers to imported confirmed COVID-19 cases
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