These are the 5 stages of coronavirus infection according to Malaysia’s Health Ministry – Mashable SE Asia

In a press conference yesterday, April 2, 2020, Malaysias Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said coronavirus infections develop through 5 different stages.

This comes after he revealed that nearly 80 percent of patients in Malaysia who tested positive for the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, displayed either mild symptoms, or none at all.

Noor Hisham also mentioned that the remaining 20 percent of patients were the ones who fell into the moderate and critical categories of positive coronavirus infections.

"We know that 80 percent are asymptomatic or they have mild symptoms. The other 20 percent need more attention as they either belong in the moderate cases or the critical cases of around five to 10 per cent, said Noor Hisham.

Being asymptomatic means a person does not develop any symptoms of illness. This means they can often continue their daily routines without any tell-tale signs of infection.

Noor Hisham also stated that despite the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation to only test those with symptoms, Malaysia has also ramped up efforts in conducting tests on people who were in direct contact with those confirmed to be positive coronavirus infections.

"We also have death cases involving young patients like the one aged 34 and the youngest was 27. But (this was because) they came (to the hospital) at a very late stage. They came when they were already at stage 3 or 4 (of a COVID-19 infection), where they already had pneumonia and needed breathing assistance, Noor Hisham revealed.

Individuals in the first stage can usually perform their daily routines without feeling ill.

This includes fevers, dry coughs, and a lack of physical energy. Risk of transmission is thought to be the greatest at this stage.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), complications of severe COVID-19 cases include (but are not limited to) pneumonia, hypoxemic respiratory failure, as well as sepsis and septic shock.

Shortness of breath can make it extremely difficult for those infected with COVID-19. According to the WHO, 1 out of every 6 people infected with COVID-19 start to develop serious bouts of breathing difficulties.

If a patient reaches this stage, they will need to rely on a ventilator to keep breathing.

Noor Hisham further stated that the Ministry of Health (MOH) has now set up a team to review all COVID-19 cases that resulted with death. The team, headed by former MOH Deputy Director-General Christopher Lee, will be tasked with spotting useful trends and patterns.

"There are many deaths involving those who have diabetes, hypertension and low immunity. This made up about 67 percent of the total number of deaths," said Noor Hisham. He also added that the other high-risk group encompassed people of old age.

Cover image sourced from Yusof Mat Isa / Malay Mail.

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These are the 5 stages of coronavirus infection according to Malaysia's Health Ministry - Mashable SE Asia

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero