KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia on Friday (April 17) reported the lowest number of new coronavirus cases since movement curbs began on March 18, with 69 announced by the Health Ministry.

This was only the second time that the ministry's director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had announced a double-digit increase since the movement control order (MCO) started.

Malaysia on Wednesday reported 85 new cases of Covid-19.

The improving data of lower active cases and high recovery rate of patients in Malaysia has offered hope that its movement restrictions have helped to curb infections while allowing hospitals to focus on treatment.

Malaysia on Friday is into the 31st day of the stay-at-home order.

The third-phase of the MCO is scheduled to end on April 28.

Datuk Dr Noor Hisham said on Friday that the 69 new cases brought the cumulative total to 5,251.

He said 201 people were discharged over the past 24 hours - the fifth consecutive day where the number of people discharged exceeded the number of new cases.

The total number of patients who have been discharged stood at 2,967, or 56.5 per cent of Covid-19 patients who have recovered.

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The number of people still being treated was at 2,198.

There were two new fatalities to bring the total to 86. This translates to a fatality rate of 1.64 per cent out of the total number of cases.

One fatality was an 84-year-old male in Pahang, and another was an 85-year-old male who was being treated in Kuala Lumpur,

Dr Noor Hisham said there are currently 51 Covid-19 patients in intensive care units, with 26 requiring ventilators.