Malaysia’s New Covid Cases Climb Again Ahead of State Polls

(Bloomberg) -- New Covid-19 cases in Malaysia rose above the 6,000 mark on Wednesday for the first time in five days, fueled by a higher infectivity rate.

The reproduction factor of the virus, known as R-naught, has edged past the key threshold of 1, data from the health ministry show. That’s pushed new cases up by 11% over the previous week.

The uptrend has sparked concerns of another outbreak amid the upcoming state polls in Malacca and Sarawak. A spike in cases after a similar election in Sabah state last year fueled public anger against former premier Muhyiddin Yassin, helping to precipitate the fall of his government in August.

“The situation remains a concern as the increase in cases and the infectivity rate values from the previous week reflect the potential for Covid transmission into the community,” Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement Tuesday evening, while urging citizens to follow the virus protocols. 

Still, most key indicators including average active cases, deaths, and cases requiring admission to the Intensive Care Unit are showing a declining trend, he said.

READ: Malaysia Begins Booster Shots to Citizens Above 40 Years of Age

Malaysia reopened the tourist haven of Langkawi island to overseas visitors on Monday under a pilot project, as the Southeast Asian country prepares to treat the outbreak as endemic. The country also plans to open a vaccinated travel lane with Singapore later this month and begin a travel corridor with Indonesia early next year. 

As of Tuesday, 76% of the country’s total population had been fully vaccinated and 78.5% had received at least one dose, according to health ministry data.

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