A deserted pedestrian walkway in Kuala Lumpur during the Malaysia’s Covid-19 lockdown (Simon Roughneen)
KUALA LUMPUR — Data released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday shows that 49.7 per cent of the 4,987 people who contracted Covid-19, the potentially deadly disease caused by the new coronavirus, have now recovered.
While 170 new cases of the disease were diagnosed over the previous 24 hours, 202 people were discharged from hospital during the same time frame, Health Ministry director general Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press conference.
“Perhaps we managed to flatten [the rise in case numbers],” said Hisham.
Since last week, daily recoveries or hospital discharges of people previously diagnosed with Covid-19 have mostly exceeded new cases.
In Malaysia, 2,478 people have recovered from the disease, although 82 have died.
Malaysia went into lockdown on March 18, after a spike in cases during the previous week from 149 to 790.
Last week, the government announced that the lockdown, officially known as a Movement Control Order (MCO), will be extended for a third two-week period running until April 28.
“More needs to be done; perhaps the third MCO will help,” Hisham said of the restrictions, which require people to remain indoors unless commuting to work or shopping for essentials.
The curbs have been heavily policed, with a reported 9,090 arrests for violations ranging from jogging to holding parties.
More than 150 separate investigations have been launched into the alleged dissemination of fake news about the virus in Malaysia.
