Covid-19 infectivity rate dips under 1.0 for first time since April

The country's Covid-19 infectivity rate dipped under 1.0 for the first time since April.

The infectivity rate had gradually declined in the past week, suggesting that the latest Covid-19 resurgence may have hit the peak.

According to data shared by Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the infectivity rate yesterday stood at 0.99.

The last time it dipped under 1.0 was on April 7. It hit a high of 1.21 on May 23 but began declining from May 30.

A prolonged infectivity rate of above 1.0 means new Covid-19 cases will grow exponentially while a value under 1.0 means new infections will start to come down.

New daily cases remain elevated, ranging from 6,000 to 8,000 in the last week.

The infectivity rate must be sustained under 1.0 in the next weeks for fresh infections to go down.

However, the recent trend suggests that further deterioration of the pandemic situation may have been arrested.

The country went under a "total lockdown" beginning June 1 to help bring the pandemic under control.

The numbers of Covid-19 patients in the intensive care unit also remain elevated but the increase has slowed down in the last week.

The country added 44 new Covid-19 patients in the ICU last week to 890 yesterday.

This was in contrast to 165 new Covid-19 patients in the ICU in the preceding week.

However, the numbers of deaths in the next week may still increase due to the elevated number of Covid-19 patients in the ICU.

The country saw more than 100 deaths in three out of the last seven days.

The highest number of casualties was on June 2 with 126 succumbing to Covid-19.

Covid-19: Steep rise in active cases, deaths worrying

Three-phase 'total lockdown' to kick off on June 1

Covid-19: Total cases speeding towards half-a-million mark

Kelantan hospital and quarantine facilities full - exco

Covid-19 infectivity hits 2021 record-high