KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 231 cases or 0.71 per cent of the 32,467 new COVID-19 cases recorded in the country yesterday are in categories three, four, and five.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the remaining 32,236 cases or 99.29 per cent are in categories one and two, hence bringing the cumulative total of cases in the country to 3,528,557.

"Of the 231 cases in categories three to five reported yesterday, 60 cases were unvaccinated or have yet to complete vaccination while 115 cases are fully vaccinated.

"Apart from that, 56 cases from categories three to five had received booster doses, 108 cases involved individuals aged 60 and above, 74 cases have comorbidities and one case involved a pregnant woman," he said in a statement today.

He said a total of 2,048 cases were admitted to hospitals yesterday, comprising 745 cases in categories three to five, and 1,303 cases in categories one and two.

On recoveries, Dr Noor Hisham said 27,629 recovered cases were reported yesterday, bringing the cumulative number of recoveries in the country to 3,197,298.

He also said that a total of 355 cases required treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with 208 cases requiring ventilator support.

On the intensive care unit (ICU) bed usage, Dr Noor Hisham said that six states recorded bed utilisation of more than 50 per cent, namely in Putrajaya (83 per cent), Kelantan (60 per cent), Kuala Lumpur (58 per cent), Selangor (57 per cent), Johor (57) and Penang (50 per cent).

Meanwhile, he also said that the country's infectivity rate (Rt) now stood at 1.01, with Sarawak recorded the highest at 1.43, followed by Perak (1.29), Terengganu (1.19) and Negeri Sembilan (1.16).

-- BERNAMA