Healthcare workers perform the intubation procedure on a Covid-19 patient in Hospital Serdang’s ICU. – Malay Mail photo
KUALA LUMPUR (July 19): A majority of the 10,972 Covid-19 infection cases today are either asymptomatic or displaying light symptoms, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
In a series of tweets, he said that 6,337 cases or 57.8 per cent of today’s total are in Category One, while 4,464 cases or 40.7 per cent are in Category Two.
“Meanwhile 103 cases or 0.9 per cent today fall in Category Three which is pneumonia, 42 cases or 0.4 per cent in Category Four which requires oxygen assistance, and 26 cases or 0.2 per cent are in critical condition requiring the use of ventilators,” Dr Noor Hisham said.
In total 171 cases or 1.5 per cent are classified in Categories Three, Four, and Five. Although the number is not high, he said it is important to be aware of the necessary duration required to look after them in the hospitals.
“Category Four cases require an average of 14 days of care in Intensive Care Units (ICU) while Category Five cases require an average of 21 days in the ICU.
“While Category Three cases require care in hospitals, especially for those who are high-risk,” Dr Noor Hisham said.
He explained that the lengthy period of time required to treat serious cases has resulted in the growing limitation of the bed capacity daily, bringing about congestion.
“This in turn burdens the healthcare system in ICUs, hospitals, and Low-Risk Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centres,” Dr Noor Hisham said. — Malay Mail