PETALING JAYA: A US-based research institute’s modelling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia reportedly projected the country could record over 5,000 new cases in a day next March if mask use does not reach 95% of Malaysians.
The projections were made by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) using a model that was also used by the Trump administration, according to CodeBlue, a health news portal.
“The projection is based on a situation where there’s no Covid-19 vaccine available yet,” the report said. Details of the model used were not available.
The model showed a peak of over 2,200 cases in February if 95% of Malaysians wore face masks, and coupled with a wide distribution of a vaccine over 90 days. The number of positive cases would then decline to just below 2,000 by April.
But if 95% mask usage was not achieved together with vaccination, daily infections were projected to reach just over 5,300 by April, the report said.
The institute noted that only 78% of Malaysians have been wearing face masks since the Covid-19 outbreak began.
It also projected the Covid-19 death toll in Malaysia to reach just over 1,300 by April, compared with the 402 deaths recorded so far.
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