APART from recording one of the highest number of new cases within the last 24 hours at 3,631, the COVID-19 outbreak does not seem to be receding despite the reimplementation of the movement control order (MCO 2.0).
The country also recorded the highest number of deaths by far, adding 18 more to the current total of 660.
The good news is, the number of recovered patients is still within the thousands, standing at 2,554 today out of the total 132,706.
However, there are still currently a stunningly high number of active cases at 42,814, with 251 of the patients receiving treatment being in intensive care while 102 others are in need of ventilator support.
Clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment
Earlier today, the Government announced that clinical trials for two medicines to treat COVID-19 is currently being developed.
According to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, both medicines are to be taken orally and are known as Ivermectin (IVM) and Favipiravir.
The IVM is currently listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an anthelminthic drug used to treat various parasitic infestations.
“It is cheap, easily available and safe for use. In Malaysia, it is only licensed for use in animals,” he said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, Favipiravir is another anti-viral drug which the ministry previously said it was considering to be used in treating COVID-19 patients. – Jan 22, 2021
