And this could be really bad news.

Rt steadily rising

In a worrying update, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has revealed that the national COVID-19 infectivity rate (Rt) has continued to rise since two weeks ago.

Dr Noor Hisham told New Straits Times that the Rt has seen a steady increase since 6 November before hitting 1.0 last Thursday (11 November) - five weeks after interstate travel ban was lifted.

On Saturday (13 November), the Rt stood at 1.04.

Image credit: TODAY Online

Putrajaya continued to record the highest Rt at 1.17, followed by Kuala Lumpur (1.06) and Selangor (1.04). The other states that recorded an Rt rate of more than 1.0 include Negri Sembilan (1.03), Pahang (1.02) and Kelantan (1.01).

That is followed by Sabah (0.99), Perlis (0.88), Melaka (0.97), Kedah (0.96), Johor (0.95), Terengganu (0.92), Penang (0.91), Perak (0.90), Sarawak (0.88) and Labuan (eight cases).

Sign of a new wave?

The slow and steady rise of the national Rt rate could spell disaster, Dr Noor Hisham said.

On Friday (12 November), Dr Noor Hisham told Malay Mail that the increasing Rt rate could be an early sign of another COVID-19 wave.

According to the Health DG, this was what Malaysia experienced just before the start of the third wave in September 2020.

“When the Rt is at 1.0, it means cases are stagnant and not dropping like we want them to. This could be an early sign that cases may start to rise again,” he was quoted as saying.

The number of daily cases seem to back up Dr Noor Hisham's claim, as the number of daily COVID-19 cases have surged past the he mid-6,000s these past week after it went down to 4,000s in the week of 5 to 8 November.

Image credit: Zee5

The rising Rt rate and number of daily cases could be attributed to poor SOP compliance and gatherings in crowded spaces, Dr Noor Hisham said.

“Not only that, those who have not been vaccinated, they are susceptible to spreading the virus.

“If we look at data from Germany and Austria, people who were not vaccinated are getting infected rapidly, causing a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ in those countries,” he was quoted as saying, adding that the government is currently rolling out booster shots for frontliners.

As such, Dr Noor Hisham has urged Malaysians to remain cautious and continue to exercise vigilance. He also urged those who have yet to be vaccinated to step forward and take their doses.

Because the last thing we really want is another lockdown, right?