Malaysia logged a record 27,831 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, the health ministry said, the highest daily rise since mid-August last year amid a surge in infections caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus.
The rise brings the total number of cases re-ported to more than 3.1 million, including over 32,000 deaths. Indonesia reported a record number of new coronavirus cases on Tuesday (Feb 15) as the Omicron variant spreads across the Southeast Asian archipelago.
The number of daily infections topped 57,000, according to the government’s Covid-19 taskforce, surpassing the previous peak of 56,757 cases re-corded in July last year during the country’s Delta wave.
“The national figure for positive cases in this third wave increased sharply and faster compared to the second wave,” taskforce spokesman Wiku Adis-asmito told a press briefing.
But the death rate is far lower than during the Delta surge when Indonesia reported around 2,000 fatalities a day.
The country was severely impacted by the pan-demic last year, with hospitals running out of beds and medical oxygen to treat patients.
Indonesia reported 134 new deaths from Covid-19 on Tuesday, while the hospital bed occupancy rate is around 33 per cent, compared to more than 77 per cent during the Delta explosion.—AFP
