Malaysia reports sharp jump in new coronavirus cases, over 80 people infected

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, the Malaysian authorities have reported a sharp jump in new cases as the total has now reached 83 in the country. According to international media reports, Malaysia on March 6 reported 28 new cases. The total cases nationwide reportedly comprise of 65 Malaysians, 15 Chinese nationals and one case each in citizens of the US, Japan and Italy. 

The Malaysian health authorities have, however, also informed that 23 patients have recovered and were also discharged. Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reportedly said that the new cases include patients-under-investigation (PUI), close contacts and those involved in humanitarian aid missions to combat the effects of the disease. He further added that the health ministry has also identified approximately 956 people who came in close contact with the patients and collected samples from them to detect the virus. 

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First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 80 countries since December 2019. As per reports, the total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 80,651 and more than one lakh worldwide. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 3,000 and the National Health Commission also confirmed more than 99 new cases. The death toll due to the deadly virus across the world also mounted to 3,497. 

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'Oxygen therapy'

Though there is no vaccine as of yet, in the latest report released, the WHO stressed that “oxygen therapy is a major treatment intervention for people with severe COVID-19”. The report added that all countries should work to optimize the availability of “pulse oximeters” and “medical oxygen systems”.

The report further revealed that the majority of patients are adults adding that only 2.1 per cent of the total patients in China were below the age of 20 years. It stated that clinical care of patients included early recognition, immediate isolation and implementation of appropriate infection prevention and control measures. As per WHO's report, people with mild infection should be provided with “symptomatic care” and “optimised supportive care” with those with severe disease.

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