Malaysia forecasts peak of COVID-19 in mid-September

A man gets a shot of COVID-19 vaccine in Selangor state of Malaysia on July 21 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysia's daily COVID-19 cases rose to 16,117 on July 27, the second highest daily figure, but the pandemic in the country will yet to peak until mid-September, an official said.

The highest daily number of infections, 17,045, was reported on July 25.

Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said the COVID-19 transmission in Malaysia is predicted to peak in mid-September with 24,000 cases a day.

Based on projections presented by the Ministry of Health, the infectious rate (RT) is set to be 1.2 (one person can spread the virus to 1.2 others) by then, he noted, adding that cases are projected to continue rising, with an expected toll of 17,000 cases daily by mid-August, hit the peak of 24,000 cases in September, and then fall below 1,000 by October.

The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine is at 75 percent if 100,000 second doses are administered a day. The effectiveness can reach 80 percent by October if 150,000 second doses are injected, he explained.

About 80 percent of the Malaysian population has been vaccinated, with at least one dose, against the disease so far.

Also on July 27, the Philippine Department of Health announced 7,186 new cases - the highest since June 13, raising the national tally to 1,562,420, including 27,318 deaths.

COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila increased by 47 percent, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a televised press conference, adding that the capital posted "a little over 900" new cases per day last week.

In Indonesia, 2,500 tonnes of oxygen are needed each day to meet soaring demand amid an exponential spike in COVID-19 cases.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said at the Presidential Office on July 26 that the daily oxygen requirement stood at 400 tonnes before the Eid al-Fitr festivities last May, and now it has climbed to 2,500 tonnes.

Indonesia plans to buy 20,000 oxygen concentrators to distribute to all hospitals with isolation rooms, he added.

The official said the demand for COVID-19 medicine has increased 12-fold since June 1 while the country is also facing a vaccine shortage.

Earlier, he had admitted that there were only about 22 million COVID-19 vaccine doses left in Indonesia, and they were expected to be used up in one month.

Indonesia has so far received about 173 million vaccine doses. As of July 26, 64.13 million doses had been administered to 45,012,649 people./.