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| The government will instead use Covid-19 hospitalisation rate as one of three indicators, the other two being vaccination rate and intensive care unit occupancy.PHOTO: REUTERS |
Bloomberg
8/8/2021
(Aug 5): Malaysia will no longer use daily virus infections as a metric to ease curbs for states once they enter the second phase of the national recovery plan, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said.
The government will instead use Covid-19 hospitalization rate as one of the three indicators to allow states to move to the third and the final phase of the plan, he said in a video posted on his Facebook page. The two other thresholds — vaccination rate and ICU occupancy — will remain the same, he said.
“Once 40% of adults have been vaccinated, the number of new cases becomes less relevant because most cases show little to no symptoms, hence reducing the burden on public infrastructure,” said Tengku Zafrul.
While the nation added a record 19,819 infections on Wednesday, 98.1% of the cases showed light to zero symptoms, according to the Health Ministry. Still, there was always a chance that their health may deteriorate over time, Director-General Tan Sri Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement.
With new infections piling up — daily cases topped a record 20,000 for the first time on Thursday — the government is focusing on speeding up its vaccination drive. About 31% of the adult population received both doses of the vaccine, and 62% got at least one dose as on Aug 3, according to the health ministry.
Third phase
The hospitalization rate must be 3 cases per 100,000 of the population for states to move from the second to the third phase, said Tengku Zafrul. Currently, the states of Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perak are in the second phase, which allows for opening up more economic sectors.
The third phase involves reopening of all economic activities with the exception of those on the negative list, according to the plan. Based on this new indicator, the government allowed Perlis, Sarawak and Labuan to enter the third phase beginning Wednesday, Tengku Zafrul said.
To get to the final stage, the rate must be 1.3 cases per 100,000 people, he said. States in this phase may reopen their social and economic sectors under new norms, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in July. Most states are expected to reach this phase as early as October, according to the premier.
