The Health Ministry yesterday reported 26,701 new Covid-19 cases - the second highest on record.

Also reported were 39 new deaths. The number of reported deaths have been trending up over the past week. There were 17 victims who died before they were brought to the hospital.

As of yesterday, there were 7,119 Covid-19 patients hospitalised, up 117 percent compared to one week ago.

The highest number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients ever recorded was 16,081 on Aug 16 last year. The current number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients is higher than the peak of the January wave last year.

The R-number for Malaysia was 1.32, announced two days ago. A figure of more than 1.00 suggests that the spread of Covid-19 was accelerating.

Every part of Malaysia is seeing an R-number of more than 1.00.

There were 216 Covid-19 patients in intensive care of which 141 were ventilated.

Although total Covid-19 patients who require intensive care are trending up, the utilisation rate of dedicated ICU beds for Covid-19 patients remains below 50 percent across all states.