Malaysia records first Covid-19 death of 2025
To date, a total of 21,738 Covid-19 cases have been recorded. PHOTO: AFP
PETALING JAYA - Malaysia has recorded its first Covid-19 death in 2025.
The Health Ministry said that the death occurred during Epidemiological Week 24, that spanned from June 8 to June 15.
'The individual had serious comorbidities, which were heart disease and diabetes, with the deceased also not taking the second booster vaccine shot,' the ministry said in a statement on June 19.
The ministry added that this was a drastic drop compared to the 57 deaths in 2024.
'The last Covid-19 related death was recorded on May 26, 2024. This shows the effective control steps taken by the ministry,' it said.
It added that six Covid-19 cases had been admitted to ICU wards with patients suffering from comorbidities.
'All cases were closely monitored with care, with all patients discharged from ICU wards. Four were allowed to return home, with two transferred to normal wards,' it said.
To date, a total of 21,738 Covid-19 cases have been recorded.
'However, there has been an increase in Week 24 with 3,379 cases compared to the 2,011 cases recorded during the prior week. This is a 68 per cent increase,' it said, adding that the situation remains controlled. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
How does genetic testing affect your insurance coverage? Here's what you should know
SINGAPORE: Singapore will launch a national health programme on Jun 30 targeting a hereditary cholesterol condition. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has described the programme as the country's first preventive care programme based on genetic testing. As Singapore expands its use of genetic testing in preventive healthcare, the question of insurance fairness looms large. Here's what you need to know about the moratorium that protects your data and your coverage. What is a genetic testing moratorium and why does Singapore have one? A genetic testing moratorium is an agreement that restricts how life insurers can use genetic test results when evaluating applications for insurance. It aims to prevent genetic discrimination, ensuring that individuals are not penalised for potential health risks identified through genetic screening. Countries that have such guidelines include Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada. In Singapore, insurers cannot use predictive genetic test results - used to predict future risk of diseases - in assessing or deciding the outcome of insurance applications, unless certain criteria are satisfied. Genetic tests analyse one's DNA, RNA, chromosomes or specific genes to identify changes that may be linked to inherited conditions, disease risk and the likelihood of passing on conditions to one's children. In Singapore's case, a moratorium on genetic testing and insurance was introduced by the Health Ministry (MOH) and the Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA) in October 2021. In June 2025, the moratorium was expanded to include all predictive and diagnostic test results from the national familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) genetic testing programme Under the agreement, life insurers in Singapore are also not allowed to use genetic test results from biomedical research or direct-to-consumer genetic test results. This means individuals do not need to worry that participating in MOH's genetic testing initiative will affect their ability to get life insurance, critical illness coverage. or similar products. The framework applies to all LIA members, including life insurers and reinsurers that are licensed to operate in Singapore. What does the moratorium mean for you? In your insurance applications, insurers may ask that you confirm you have read and understood the moratorium. Under the moratorium, insurers cannot require or pressure you to take a genetic test for insurance underwriting. This applies to all such tests, including predictive, diagnostic, pharmacogenetic or prenatal and newborn screening genetic tests. Insurance underwriting is the process that insurers take to evaluate the risk of insuring a person and decide how much he or she should pay for coverage. In addition, if you have done genetic testing under the new national FH genetic testing programme, insurers are not allowed to ask for or use your test results, both predictive and diagnostic, in insurance underwriting. A predictive test reveals the risk of developing a condition in the future while a diagnostic test confirms a current illness. Are there exceptions to the moratorium on the use of genetic test results? If you have previously taken other genetic tests, insurers cannot ask for or use your results in insurance underwriting. However, there are two exceptions. First, if the test was a diagnostic genetic test that confirmed diagnosis of a disease, insurers can request this as part of your medical history. Second, if you are applying for life, total permanent disability, long-term care, critical illness or disability income insurance, insurers may request your predictive genetic test results only if both of the following conditions are met: The sum assured or payout you are applying for is higher than the approved financial limit (see table below) set out in the moratorium The predictive genetic test you took is one of the approved ones set out in the moratorium - the HTT test for Huntington's Disease and the BRCA1/2 test for breast cancer The moratorium also does not affect insurers' ability to request or use diagnosis or family history, as per current industry practice. In addition, the moratorium only applies to insurance policies that were already in effect before its rollout. For instance, only policies signed on or after Jun 30 will be subject to the updated moratorium. What if you happen to reveal predictive genetic test results to your insurer? The rules of the moratorium still hold as it applies to accidental disclosure as well. This means insurers cannot consider the predictive genetic test result unless the two conditions, stated above under the exceptions, are met. If the predictive genetic test result is favourable, insurers may use it in deciding the underwriting outcome. Does the moratorium cover prenatal or newborn genetic screening? No, the moratorium does not apply to genetic tests done as part of prenatal or newborn screening, for example, tests for metabolic or inherited disorders in babies. These results are treated like other clinical diagnostic tests, and whether they are used in insurance decisions is up to individual insurers. If such tests are done as part of medical care, insurers may consider the results during underwriting, just like with other medical diagnoses. What can you do if you suspect non-compliance with the moratorium? If you are concerned with how an insurer has handled your genetic test information, you may work directly with them to resolve your complaint or feedback. If both parties fail to reach a resolution, you may file a complaint with the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre, or approach the Singapore Mediation Centre for mediation.

Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Malaysia records first Covid-19 death of 2025
To date, a total of 21,738 Covid-19 cases have been recorded. PHOTO: AFP PETALING JAYA - Malaysia has recorded its first Covid-19 death in 2025. The Health Ministry said that the death occurred during Epidemiological Week 24, that spanned from June 8 to June 15. 'The individual had serious comorbidities, which were heart disease and diabetes, with the deceased also not taking the second booster vaccine shot,' the ministry said in a statement on June 19. The ministry added that this was a drastic drop compared to the 57 deaths in 2024. 'The last Covid-19 related death was recorded on May 26, 2024. This shows the effective control steps taken by the ministry,' it said. It added that six Covid-19 cases had been admitted to ICU wards with patients suffering from comorbidities. 'All cases were closely monitored with care, with all patients discharged from ICU wards. Four were allowed to return home, with two transferred to normal wards,' it said. To date, a total of 21,738 Covid-19 cases have been recorded. 'However, there has been an increase in Week 24 with 3,379 cases compared to the 2,011 cases recorded during the prior week. This is a 68 per cent increase,' it said, adding that the situation remains controlled. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.


AsiaOne
6 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Israeli hospital had taken patients underground hours before missile hit, World News
BEERSHEBA, Israel — Shattered glass and piles of rubble littered the floors of Soroka Medical Centre on Thursday (June 19), after an Iranian missile ripped through the hospital in Israel's south, injuring dozens. The major public hospital, which serves around one million people living in southern Israel, sustained extensive damage in the strike. Several wards were completely destroyed, with debris scattered across the parking lot and surrounding walkways. "We knew from the noise that it wasn't like anything we were used to, that it wasn't like anything we had seen before," said Nissim Huri, who was working in the kitchen and took refuge in a concrete shelter during the strike. "It was terrifying," Huri said, describing the scenes as she emerged from the shelter as "complete destruction". Israel launched an aerial war against Iran on Friday, calling it a preemptive strike designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel. Hospital staff said the blast was so powerful it threw them backward. On Thursday afternoon, they sat in the hospital courtyard rewatching videos of towering plumes of smoke. Israel's Health Ministry said 71 people were wounded in the attack, most of them suffering light injuries or panic attacks as they rushed for shelter. Hospital staff evacuated patients and cordoned off damaged areas. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby. The hospital began moving patients out of some buildings in recent days as part of emergency precautions in response to the Iranian strikes. It has since limited admissions to life-threatening cases only. Patients in the damaged building were taken to an underground facility just hours before the strike, a statement from the Israeli Health ministry said. Medical transporter Yogev Vizman, called to the scene just after the blast, said he witnessed "total destruction" when he arrived. "That whole building was on fire... everything collapsed, Vizman said. "I'm sad, this is like my home, they simply destroyed our home... I never thought there would be a direct hit on a hospital." Soldiers from the Israeli military's search and rescue unit searched the battered buildings to ensure nobody was trapped inside. An Israeli soldier told Reuters all he saw at first was "thick black smoke" and that they inspected every floor to look for casualties. "It's God's will that this place was evacuated from civilians last night," he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. [[nid:719283]]