With 32 deaths, Johor has the most Covid-19 deaths in February followed by Sabah 29 and Perak 26 – what is Khairy doing to reduce the high Covid-19 mortality rate in Malaysia?

With 32 Covid-19 deaths this month, Johor has the most Covid-19 deaths in February followed by Sabah 29 and Perak 26.

The question that must be asked is: what is the Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin doing to reduce the high Covid-19 mortality rate in Malaysia?

Yesterday, there were 24 deaths, followed the previous three days of 11, 15 and 24 deaths – making a total of 74 deaths in four days.

What must be a matter of concern is the high percentage of the Covid-19 deaths who were brought in dead to the hospitals, constituting some 34% in February.

How does Malaysia compare with other countries with regard to Brought-in-Dead (BID) cases?

Hong Kong, which recorded 2,071 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, is facing an Omicron storm. Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said on Monday that the "onslaught" of coronavirus infections in the global financial hub has dealt a heavy blow and overwhelmed its capacity to deal with the epidemic as daily cases surge to record highs.

Daily infections have multiplied 20 times over the past two weeks, from about 100 cases at the start of February, with authorities scrambling to control the deepening outbreak.

We must learn from Hong Kong’s lesson to ensure that in the Omicron wave, the health care system is not overwhelmed as well as to reduce the high Covid-19 mortality rate in the country.

The peaking of the Omicron wave in other countries should be followed closely, with the Philippines recording 2,730 new cases yesterday after peaking at 37,207 on January 15; the Unites States recording 77,402 cases yesterday after peaking at 903,620 cases on 13th January 2022; UK which recorded 41,648 cases yesterday after peaking at 229,622 cases on 4.1.2022 and India which recorded 25,260 cases yesterday after peaking at 347,254 cases on January 20, 2022.

There is one good news from India, whose Delta peak on May 6, 2021 with 414433 daily cases is higher than the Omicron peak of 347,254 cases on January 20, 2022. The Omicron peak in the Philippines is about one-and-a-half times its Delta peak. In Indonesia, the Omicron peak has yet to reach to Delta peak of 56,757 cases on July 15, 2021.

Can Malaysia avoid the example of United States, United Kingdom and Germany whose Omicron peak is about three times the Delta peak?