City workers disinfect a community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 28, 2020. A total of 27 people have died of the COVID-19 in Malaysia as of Saturday with 159 newly confirmed cases, bringing the total to 2,320, said the Health Ministry. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A total of 27 people have died of the COVID-19 in Malaysia as of Saturday with 159 newly confirmed cases, bringing the total to 2,320, said the Health Ministry.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that among the infected patients, 320 have been cured after 61 were discharged on Saturday.
Meanwhile, 73 are currently being held in intensive care and 54 of those are in need of assisted breathing.
The worst hit areas with the most confirmed cases are the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the adjacent Selangor state as well as the southern Johor state, which borders Singapore.
Malaysia has been implementing the movement control order since March 18, including closing shops and schools as well as imposing interstate travel bans. It has since been extended to April 14.
The government is putting some high risks areas under an enhanced movement control order with even more restrictions in order to break the chain of infections.
Noor Hisham said earlier that the World Health Organization (WHO) had chosen as one of the countries to run trials on the effectiveness of a drug called Remdesevir to treat COVID-19 patients.
Remdesevir was originally developed to fight Ebola but researchers found that its compound could inhibit the coronaviruses that cause SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
In a post on social media, Noor Hisham said that the Health Ministry will treat COVID-19 patients with the Remdesevir and will monitor all side effects and its effectiveness.
