Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 1 (BNA): Malaysia recorded 9,671 deaths from COVID-19 in September, the deadliest month since the pandemic began, government data showed on Friday, although authorities said the increase was mostly due to a delay in listing virus. fatalities from previous months.
The sudden rise in the number of deaths in Malaysia has led it to become among the highest death rates per capita in Asia, even as new infections have slowed in recent weeks amid an intensive vaccination program, Reuters reported.
The September figure accounts for more than a third of the total 26,335 COVID-19 deaths reported in Malaysia, which has registered more than 2.2 million infections, the third highest figure in Southeast Asia.
However, Health Department officials say many deaths have been delayed – some by several months – as rising cases have overwhelmed hospitals and testing labs.
In September, the ministry began releasing daily data according to the time of deaths, as well as the date they were reported, in an effort to improve transparency and clear the backlog.
The data showed that although Malaysia reported a daily average of 322 deaths due to COVID-19 in September, the actual daily deaths fell to 89 as of Thursday based on a seven-day rolling average.
The authorities pledged to reduce delays by imposing time limits on hospitals to confirm the cause of death.
The previously unreported deaths revealed systemic gaps, even though Malaysia has one of the fastest vaccinations in Southeast Asia, Adiba Kamaruzzaman, an infectious disease expert at University of Malaya, told Reuters.
This includes uneven vaccination rates in different states, inadequate monitoring of COVID-19 patients in home quarantine, as well as limited access to health care among undocumented immigrants, she said.
She added that Malaysia also had high rates of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, especially among younger adults who were subsequently vaccinated, which increased the risk of severe COVID-19 infection.
About 62% of Malaysia’s population of 32 million, including 86% of adults, are now vaccinated. Last month, the country began vaccinating teenagers aged 12 to 17.
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