Malaysia Coronavirus (COVID-19) Live Updates: Everything You Need to Know

[t4b-ticker]

---

Malaysia Statistics ( Updated Daily )

Map of Malaysia: Coronavirus COVID-19 Confirmed Cases

Number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 across different states in Malaysia. This map gets updated daily with data from Ministry Of Malaysia. To zoom, use the zoom buttons or hold CTRL while scrolling.

COVID-19 cases in Malaysia in Chronological Order

Major events and government efforts

Reference: wikipedia.org

(25/3/2020) Johns Hopkins stop providing numbers of recovered people , so we had to remove them from the tables and visualizations below .

Worldwide Statistics ( Updated Daily )

Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases in Individual Countries

Number of current confirmed COVID–19 cases, deaths and recovered people. This table gets updated once a day around 23:59 (UTC) with data by Johns Hopkins. Use the search field below to look up countries

---

World Map: Coronavirus COVID-19 Confirmed & Recovered cases

Number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 and number of people who already recovered. This map gets updated multiple times each day with data by Johns Hopkins. To zoom, use the zoom buttons or hold CTRL while scrolling.

Coronavirus COVID-19: Cases Doubling Time

This table compares the doubling times of confirmed cases in the last five days (between 6 days ago & yesterday) with the doubling time in the five days prior to that. The “change” column compares them to see if cases double ▲ faster, ▼ slower or at ~ around the same speed.

What is Coronovirus?

Coronavirus (CoV) is an illness-causing large family of viruses which have historically resulted in diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). Coronavirus may also result in milder conditions such as the common cold. However, on December 31, 2019, a new strain of Coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans emerged from a wet market in Wuhan city in Hubei province, China. On March 11, 2020, WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic – a worldwide spread of a new disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) then labeled this new disease as COVID-19. Some may know the disease as 2019-nCoV or the novel Coronavirus. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) named the new virus strain as “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)”. COVID-19 has not been previously identified in humans. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the name coronaviruses is attributed to the virus’ crown-like spikes on the surface. The four main sub-groupings of coronaviruses are alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. The first human coronaviruses were identified in the mid-1960s. Prior to COVID-19, the six known coronaviruses are:

Common human coronaviruses:

• 229E (alpha coronavirus)
• NL63 (alpha coronavirus)
• OC43 (beta coronavirus)
• HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

Other human coronaviruses:

• MERS-CoV
• SARS-CoV

Coronaviruses are zoonotic – transmission can occur between animals and people. MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and COVID-19 are examples of animal coronaviruses which underwent evolution to become human coronaviruses. 

While SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV were transmitted to humans via civet cats and dromedary camels respectively, scientists are still finding the root cause of COVID transmission to humans. However, previously, animals such as bats and pangolins have been up on the list as the animal origin. 

How can someone catch COVID-19? 

Upon transmission from animals to humans, coronavirus can spread from human to human. The main spreading mechanism is via small droplets from the nose or mouth of COVID-19-positive individuals when they cough or sneeze. This is why many health experts are pleading the public to exercise social distancing, i.e. keeping a distance of at least 1 meter (3 feet away) from other individuals. Water droplets from infected individuals may also touch surfaces such as doorknobs and tabletop. A healthy individual may contract the disease when they touch the infected surfaces with their hands. In addition, people can also catch COVID-19 when they breathe in droplets which contain the virus. This can happen when an infected individual exhales, coughs, or sneezes close to healthy individuals. While some people are wary about transmission via air, WHO has announced that the virus is mainly transmitted via respiratory droplets rather than air. 

Common Symptoms Of COVID-19

How does COVID-19 compare to SARS?

Many scientists have drawn comparisons between COVID-19 and the 2002-03 SARS outbreak. Both coronaviruses originated from China and are deadlier than the common cold viruses. Although both outbreaks have resulted in chaos and global economic slowdown, the diseases have progressed very differently in terms of fatality, speed, and extent of spread. In a research paper published on Nature by Ewen Callaway et al., SARS went on for 3 months unidentified as a disease – it took 2 months to search for SARS’s pathogen.

However, within 3 weeks, China had informed WHO regarding the COVID-19 outbreak; two weeks later, the coronavirus was successfully isolated and genetically sequenced. The rapid process of identifying the virus allowed China to carry out a more effective containment effort. In contrast, it took scientists an additional one month for them to identify and obtain the first genetic sequence for SARS. By then, 5000 cases were already reported. 

SARS resulted in more than 8000 cases and 800 deaths before it was finally contained by cutting out human-to-human interaction. On the other hand, by the end of February, there were more than 82000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with at least 2800 deathWhile the case fatality rate of SARS and MERS stands at about 10% and 35% respectively, COVID-19 currently records a rate of 2-2.5%. This figure may change with time depending on how many people get infected and die from the coronavirus. Although less lethal compared to SARS, COVID-19 proved to be more pervasive, spreading more easily than other diseases, even the seasonal influenza. 

Past Pandemics Throughout Human History

While COVID-19 may seem like an endless infection that knows no border, humans have in the past dealt with and overcame pandemics despite the absence of sophisticated scientific advancement. The Antonine Plague, for example, occurred in 165-180, causing a death toll of 5 million. Most noticeably, The Black Death between 1347-1351 resulted in 200 million deaths. However, more recent pandemics such as SARS and MERS records significantly smaller death tolls, attributed to the advancement of medical equipment and knowledge as well as the increased numbers of healthcare resources and medical staff. Take a look at infographics for a walk-through on the most prominent pandemics in human history. 

Death toll of major pandemic throughout history

What is the Movement Control Order?

Six things you need to know regarding the MCO.

On March 16, 2020, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the Movement Control Order (Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan) will be set in motion starting from March 18 to March 31, 2020. The government made the announcement to curb the spread of COVID-19 in response to the influx of positive cases detected in Malaysia. The Movement Control Order (MCO) was enacted under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and the Police Act 1967.

The following are the 6 main takeaways from the Movement Control Order:

1. Restriction on Movement and Social Gatherings
   • Citizens are not allowed to gather for any events or activities. Sports, social, religious, and cultural activities must be put on a halt. All religious institutions and business premises must close except for the following:
     • Shopping Market
     • Wet market
     • Convenience stores 
     • Grocery shops
   • The shops which are allowed to open must sell essential items. 
     
   • For Muslims, all activities at the mosques and surau, including Friday prayers, are cancelled indefinitely based on the consensus from the Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Muzakarah Khas on March 15, 2020. 
     
2. Restriction on All Overseas Travel 
   • Citizens are restricted from travelling overseas. For those who just came back to Malaysia, they must undergo a health check-up and self-quarantine for 14 days. 
     
3. Restrictions on All Tourists and Travellers to Malaysia
   
   
4. Closure of All Kindergartens and Schools 
   • All schools, primary and secondary, must close. This includes:
     • Public school
     • Private school
     • Daily school
     • Boarding school
     • International school
     • Tahfiz
   • Pre-university institutions must also adhere to the closure.
     
5. Closure of All Higher Institutions
   • The restriction applies to all public and private universities as well as training institutes 
     
6. Closure of All Government and Private Premises 
   • Only businesses carrying out essential services are allowed to continue their operations. The essential services are: 
     • Water supply
     • Electricity 
     • Power generation 
     • Telecommunication 
     • Post office 
     • Transportation
     • Irrigation 
     • Broadcasting services
     • Finance 
     • Pharmacy
     • Fire brigade
     • Jail
     • Ports and harbours 
     • Airports
     • Security services
     • Grocery stores 
     • Food manufacturers and distributors
     • Cleaning/hygiene services (e.g. garbage pick-up)

The Movement Control Order aims to subdue the rapid spread of the coronavirus in Malaysia. Given its exponential growth, there are growing concerns on whether Malaysia has adequate healthcare resources to keep up with the increasing number of positive cases detected daily. By hindering human interaction, the government hopes to minimize the rate of coronavirus transmission in the community. Therefore, it is essential for Malaysians to adhere to the restriction as the duration may be extended if condition worsens. 

Conclusion

Many people are wondering, when is this coronavirus pandemic going to end? Businesses, particularly the tourism sector, are heavily impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Setting business outside the equation, many people are getting anxious day by day as they wait for the pandemic to subside. Scientists predict that the first vaccine would be available, at the earliest, about 12-18 months from now; to put things into perspective, SARS-CoV still has no vaccine to date. While lockdowns may prove to be effective in flattening the curve, let’s be realistic, we can’t keep everyone locked in their houses forever – life must carry on. 

A concept called herd immunity might be our best bet while waiting for a vaccine. Herd immunity is when at least 60% of the community has built immunity towards the disease, which in turn, allows for the pandemic to die down. However, this may take months, if not years, for it to be feasible. In the meantime, let’s all do our part in flattening out the curve. Stay at home, practice proper hygiene, and apply social distancing if you have to leave the house. 

Malaysians, let’s learn from Italy and fight COVID-19 together! #StayAtHome