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

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Contents


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

January 2020

January

Ministry Of Health Published COVID-19 Guidelines

The Malaysia health ministry released guidelines on the virus and designated hospitals in each state to handle cases.

 

24th January

All Direct Flights to China were Stopped Indefinitely in Sabah

In Sabah, all direct flights to China were stopped indefinitely due to suspected cases at the capital city. All but one were tested negative. The positive case was detected upon the person’s arrival in China.

 

25th January

3 Coronavirus Cases Confirmed in Johor Baru

25th January

Kedah and Penang implemented stringent checks at entry points.

26th January

Two Chinese Girls in Langkawi Suspected Of Infection

A suspected case was also detected in the state of Kedah‘s island of Langkawi involving two female Chinese nationals with both victims quarantined at the Sultanah Maliha Hospital; one later confirmed positive on 29 January.

 

26th January

Sarawak to Tighten Gateway along Malaysia-Brunei Border

In Sarawak, flights to Hainan were postponed because a Chinese National was suspected of contracting COVID-19. Sarawak Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah was considering postponement of the direct flights to Hainan under an memorandum of understanding (MoU) recently signed 

 

27th January

The Malaysian federal government declared a travel ban on Hubei travellers

February 2020

1st February

Sarawak Closed its Borders to All Chinese visitors

4th February

2 New Cases Reported ( First Case Involving Malaysian )

Two new cases were announced , the first one was a 41-year-old Malaysian male, which also was the very first case involving a Malaysian. The patient recently had a trip to Singapore attending conference. He was admitted and quarantined in Sungai Buloh Hospital. The second case involved a 63-year-old China male. 

 

4th February

Chinese girl recovered and discharged

A Chinese little girl in Langkawi has recovered from the novel coronavirus infection and was allowed to return to China. 

 

4th February

Two More Malaysians Tested Positive

On 5 February, two of 107 Malaysians and non-Malaysian family relatives brought back from Wuhan by the Malaysian government tested positive and were quarantined at Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital in Seremban of Negeri Sembilan. They were a 45-year-old man and his nine-year-old son, both Malaysians, bringing the total to 12.

 

6th February

First patient who acquired the virus through local transmission

The younger sister of the 41-year-old Malaysian reported positive of the virus on 4 February, a 40-year-old Malaysian had also been confirmed infected with the virus on 6 February, making her the first patient who acquired the virus through local transmission in Malaysia, and warded at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar.

A positive case involving a 32-year-old woman from Wuhan was reported on the same day. The woman came to Malaysia on 25 January and referred to Kuala Lumpur Hospital

 

8th February

Sabah expanded travel restrictions to air, sea, and land travel

Sabah expanded travel restrictions to air, sea, and land travel to everyone. Sabahans who have travel history to China were required to undergo a 14-day quarantine at home. 

 

9th February

Sarawak establishes a hotline in response to the outbreak

10th February

The Malaysian Government extends its ban to Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

10th February

Sarawak Disaster Management Committee began to impose a prohibition to Singaporeans travelling into the state

17th February

The First Malaysian tested positive made a full recovery

27th February

The Malaysian government began restricting travel to and from South Korea.

March 2020

1st March

Sabah and Sarawak extended travel bans to cover travellers from South Korea.

4th March

Sarawak added Italy and Iran on its travel restrictions list.

5th March

The government of Malaysia added seven regions to its travel restrictions list.
      • Italy:
        • Lombardy 
        • Veneto
        • Emilia-Romagna
      • Japan:
        • Hokkaido
      • Iran:
        • Tehran
        • Gilan
        • Qom

10th March

Sabah added Italy and Iran on the restrictions list.

11th March

Malaysian Government declared full restriction on foreign nationals directly from Italy, Iran, and South Korea

Malaysian Government declared full restriction on foreign nationals directly from Italy, Iran, and South Korea starting from 13 March. Malaysians who came back from those countries were required to quarantine themselves at home for 14 days.

11th March

Malaysian authorities were tracking around 5000 citizens who were potentially exposed to the virus during a tabligh event

Malaysian authorities announced that they were tracking around 5000 citizens who were potentially exposed to the virus during a tabligh event in Sri Petaling based on a positive case detected in Brunei which originated from Malaysia.

12th March

A total of 12 people were tested positive COVID-19 from the tabligh event

A total of 12 people were tested positive COVID-19 from the tabligh event. 

A sporadic case of transmission within the local community occurred as the affected tabligh participants returned to their home states.

12th March

Malaysia adds Denmark to the travel ban list following the country’s lockdown.

13th March

The Health Ministry rectified that 14,500 people were present at the tabligh event

The Health Ministry rectified that 14,500 people were present at the tabligh event and not 5,000 people as announced earlier.

 

13th March

The Ministry of Education suspended all extracurricular activities until further notice.

15th March

Malaysia recorded the highest daily increase of 190 cases since the outbreak , mostly linkedin to the tabligh event

16th March

Announcement of Movement Control Order

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

17th March

First two deaths from COVID-19 Reported

The first two deaths from COVID-19 happened. One was a 60-year-old priest from Kuching, Sarawak while the other was a 34-year-old tabligh participant who hailed from Johor Bahru, Johor.

17th March

IGP Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador announced the ban on interstate travel

IGP Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador announced the ban on interstate travel. Travellers must fill-in a form at the police station prior to travelling. Only several exceptions were made to allow interstate travel. However, due to long lines outside police stations across the country, the order was deferred at about 11.30pm, hours after the announcement was made. 

18th March

The Movement Control Order went into effect and would last until March 31, 2020

19th March

The Health Director, Noor Hisham urged people to stay at home and adhere to the MCO.

The Health Director, Noor Hisham urged people to stay at home and adhere to the MCO. He warns that Malaysia has a small chance to prevent from experiencing the same fate as Italy if citizens ignore the MCO. 

The Prime Minister, again, held a live telecast to urge citizens to abide by the MCO.

20th March

Army will move in to assist the police with the enforcement of the MCO this March 22, 2020

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced at a press conference that the army will move in to assist the police with the enforcement of the MCO this March 22, 2020. 

 

20th March

The 3rd Covid-19 Death: Another patient from the tabligh event has passed away

The Health Ministry announced that another patient, aged  58 years old, from the tabligh event has passed away.

21th March

Malaysia records 8 deaths with 153 new cases in day total up to 1,183

As of 7pm, Malaysia has recorded a total of 8 deaths. 2 of the deceased were from the tabligh event, while another had a travel history to Vietnam. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-records-fourth-coronavirus-death

 

 

21th March

Malaysians in Iran would be brought back via a special flight by AirAsia. Efforts to bring back Malaysians in Italy is currently disrupted as all flights are banned in the country

21th March

Legal action can be taken against those who are trying to conceal medical & travel history.

The government announced that individuals who try to hide or fail to declare their ties or interactions with people tested COVID-19 positive will face legal consequences.

21th March

Selangor government Imposes more restrictions during the MCO

22th March

Two More Deaths Recorded

Two more deaths recorded today. The 9th deceased was a doctor with a travelling history to Turkey while the other had ties to the tabligh cluster. 

22th March

4 locations in KL were identified as red zones

22th March

No more sales tax and import duty on face masks

25th March

MCO extended until April 14, PM announced

Citizens should remain calm as essential services and goods will remain available.

25th March

Economic Stimulus Package Announced This Friday

Prime Minister to announce a more thorough economic stimulus package on Friday. He also urges zakat collection centres and charity organisations to help the needy regardless of race and religion.

27th March

Malaysia Records the Highest Recovery Number Today at 44

Prime Minister to announce a more thorough economic stimulus package on Friday. He also urges zakat collection centres and charity organisations to help the needy regardless of race and religion.

27th March

PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN)

The Prime Minister announced a RM 250 billion economic stimulus package in hopes to help citizens and SMEs to cope with the economic downfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic

27th March

Malaysia selected by WHO to be among the first countries to try out a possible cure for COVID-19

April 2020

10th April

MCO extended until April 28

10th March

Several economic sectors to resume operation

The industries are:

  1. Automotive 
  2. Machinery and equipment
  3. Aerospace
  4. Construction projects and services related to construction works
  5. Science, professional and technical services and R&D
  6. Social health services
  7. Barber shops
  8. Laundry services
  9. Hardware, electrical and electronic shops
  10. Optometrists

15th April

Malaysia records below 100 new cases

15th April

China’s CGTN names Dr Noor Hisham one of world’s top doctors

17th April

69 new cases recorded today

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 â–² faster, â–¼ 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. 

Source: www.visualcapitalist.com

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

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