Malaysia’s Covid-19 Death Rate Is Among Lowest Globally Despite Increasing Cases
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We get it, watching the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases is worrying and the prospect of falling ill and consequently suffocating to death alone is terrifying.
But Malaysians can actually breathe a little sigh of relief because our Covid-19 death rate is actually among the lowest in the world.
During the daily Covid-19 press conference, Health Director General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah stated that the country’s mortality rate stands at 1.58% as of 9th April.
There are countries with death rates at 4.6% and 5.6% and this shows that our country’s rate is quite low.
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, Health Director General.
(Credit: @KKMPutrajaya/Twitter)
Globally, the death rate stands around 4%. The United Kingdom’s recorded death rate is at 5% on 23rd March while the death tally continues to jump in the United States.
In fact, the number of Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia has remained below 100 and on 9th April showed remarkable improvement with the total number of recovered patients compared to new cases.
(Credit: Financial Times)
As of noon at 9th April, Malaysia records 4,228 positive Covid-19 patients with 67 total deaths.
This shows that the medical services provided in the ward and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are of good quality. Our specialists are able to successfully treat the patients at their best and I congratulate everyone for providing such effective treatment.
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, Health Director General.
Why Malaysia’s death rate is low
It’s increased testing for Covid-19 that makes Malaysia’s mortality rate so low.
Since the pandemic was declared in March, Malaysia’s lab testing capacity for Covid-19 has increased from 4,000 to 10,000 and the Health Ministry is still pushing to reach their full capacity of 11,500.
Currently, testing is done at 43 labs across public, university and private labs.
Analysts at JP Morgan Chase & Co have also noted that Malaysia’s aggressive testing strategy is impressive, far exceeding our ASEAN counterparts and several European countries.
As more people infected with the virus are discovered, it leads to milder development of the disease. Patients in the earlier stages are able to receive appropriate medical attention before things get bad.
Based on current numbers, about 88% of Malaysia’s Covid-19 patients are at Stage 1 and Stage 2, meaning asymptomatic or mild symptoms.
Dr Hisham notes that the chances of death increases for those in ICU, which are typically patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure etc.
As Dr Hisham puts it, “We havent won the battle, but we havent lost yet either.” So, let’s continue fighting by doing our parts in staying at home and washing our hands regularly with soap and water!
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