Malaysia's COVID-19 cases continue to surge despite curbs

More than 65 per cent of Malaysian adults have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the Health Ministry said on Thursday, though coronavirus case numbers remain high despite the shots and after almost four months of restrictions.

Around 21,000 new virus cases in the country with a population of almost 33 million were reported by the ministry on Thursday, more than five times the number recorded when a third pandemic lockdown was imposed in May.

The ministry reported 278 virus-linked deaths on Wednesday, taking the total to 16,942.

The government said recently it aims to base restrictions on numbers of people ill or hospitalized after contracting the virus, with the Health Ministry's daily updates suggesting more than 95 per cent of people who test positive show mild or no symptoms of illness.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Thursday that rapid antigen tests for the virus would be made more widely available by using "bulk purchases" to push prices down.

Rapid and regular testing would be used to reopen the country's economy as the virus becomes "endemic," according to Khairy.

Virus curbs have reduced output in Malaysia's electronics and computer factories and led in turn to chip shortages as far afield as Germany, where Volkswagen and Ford have recently warned of related car production shortages.