PUTRAJAYA: Religious activities during the Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri period are among the factors behind the surge in Covid-19 cases, says Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

As of Monday, there were 40 active Covid-19 clusters nationwide which originated from religious activities during the holy month.

“The recent surge in cases is due to activities during Ramadan and Hari Raya.

“Of the 40 clusters from religious activities, 19 of them were detected in Johor and 13 in Selangor.

“The rest involved the states of Melaka, Negri Sembilan and Kelantan, among others, ” Dr Adham said during his weekly joint press conference with Khairy Jamaluddin, the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

Dr Adham said with the third movement control order, movement restriction would help reduce the transmission of Covid-19.

“These virus clusters depend on the movement and mobilisation of the public to thrive.

“If we reduce mobilisation, then there are lower chances for the virus to survive. That way, we can reduce the infectivity of Covid-19 and in turn, break the chain of transmission, ” he said.

MCO 3.0 is scheduled to end on June 7, barring any further extension.

The government has imposed a stricter Covid-19 standard operating procedure, which includes shorter business hours and ordering more workers to work from home.

On the recent surge in Labuan, Dr Adham said the government would consider ramping up the vaccination programme on the island, among other measures.

On Monday, Labuan’s infectivity rate was the highest in the country with an RT value of 1.76. The national figure on the same day was 1.21.

Meanwhile, the treatment of Covid-19 patients at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) is unaffected by an influx of cases related the LRT accident.

“There are currently 64 accident victims being warded there, ” said Dr Adham.

Three are in critical condition, three need ventilator support while another three are in surgery.

“The rest of the victims are being treated at the emergency and surgical wards. The ward for Covid-19 at HKL is not affected. We can still make use of our existing resources, ” he said.

The hospital’s surgical ward has been repurposed to treat victims who are not in critical condition.

On Monday night, a train under manual control collided with another that was carrying 213 passengers between the underground KLCC and Kampung Baru stations.

The incident left 47 people severely injured and 166 others with light injuries.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/05/26/adham-explains-recent-spike