The Health Ministry (MoH), in a statement today, said that although neighbouring countries had reported a recent rise in cases, Malaysia recorded a 12.6 per cent drop in infections to 9,682 cases up to Epidemiological Week (EW) 19/2026, compared with the same period last year.

It said there was a slight week-on-week increase of 0.7 per cent (575 cases compared with EW18/2026), but the overall situation remained under control.

“The vast majority of reported cases involve only mild symptoms that do not require hospital treatment, and no Covid-19-related deaths have been recorded thus far this year,” it said.

MoH said ongoing genomic sequencing had detected several new subvariants circulating in the community, but none showed signs of triggering a severe wave of infections.

It added that the ministry would continue to strengthen screening at international entry points in collaboration with the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA), to ensure early detection and response to any imported risks.

Covid-19 is now being managed as a common respiratory infection such as influenza, the ministry said, adding that the public should continue practising preventive measures, including good hygiene, mask-wearing when symptomatic or in crowded places, and vaccination.

Vaccination, it said, was strongly encouraged for high-risk groups including senior citizens, those with chronic illnesses, immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women, with services available at selected government clinics nationwide.

Recently, Singapore reported a rise in Covid-19 cases, recording 12,700 infections for the week of May 10 to 16, up from 8,000 in the previous week.