COMMENT | Covid-19 has rapidly swept across the globe, and Malaysia has experienced a resurgence of infections since September.

While some feel numb with Covid-19 fatigue, others may have increased anxiety and fear. However, as this crisis progresses, it is important to 'take a deep breath' and reposition ourselves within the greater scheme of things in the hopes of developing a fresh perspective on our local situation.

Using public domain data, we compared the number of new Covid-19 infections per 100,000 population in Malaysia with other countries from various regions through three-time periods; March to May, June to August, and September to Nov 2020.

Gaining context

Within Malaysia, the global rankings of Malaysia, its central region (Selangor, Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory Putrajaya, and Negeri Sembilan) and the rest of Malaysia are now similar to the March to May period. There was a large drop in rankings during June and August.

As the rankings suggest, the first and second waves we experienced were dealt with rapidly and effectively resulting in