KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — The Ministry of Health reported just 2,107 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, the lowest since 13 months ago.

The sharp dip in new cases comes just two days before holiday season begins as Muslims look to celebrate Aidilfitri, which is likely to fall on May 3.

The government loosened most of the Covid-19 restrictions starting May 1 to mark the transition towards "endemicity”, allowing both international and interstate travel to resume. 

The removal of restrictions has led many to make the journey back to their hometown for Hari Raya this week.

Since April 1, daily cases have shown a steady downward trend, freeing up both ICU and regular beds in hospitals. 

Overall ICU utilisation rate is now at just 9 per cent, while total hospitalisation rate for Covid-19 cases is just at 11 per cent, according to the ministry’s CovidNow website.

From Saturday’s cases, only 2.6 per cent were hospitalised, and just 24 of them were admitted into ICUs. Close to 98 per cent of total cases required no treatment.

Covid-19 fatalities have also shown a downward shift. Five deaths linked to the coronavirus were reported on Saturday, with no brought-in-dead cases. 

The virus has killed 35,547 people to date.

Malaysia has reported more than 4.4 million confirmed cases since the pandemic began. 4.36 million of them have recovered.