Factors determining COVID-19 severity in Malaysia: From social, economic and environment perspectives

Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Malaysia. It investigates three major factors (social, economy and environment). Thirteen States and two Federal Territories of Malaysia were considered, and the data for the attributes of each major factor are derived from the official reports from the Department of Statistics Malaysia. Meanwhile, the infection rate and mortality rate of COVID-19 cases were obtained from the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Using non-parametric statistical approach, the several interesting results are identified. Firstly, for the social factor, we found that the percentage of non-citizens has a positive relationship with both COVID-19 infection rate and mortality rate. Further, the number of students per teacher have a positive relationship with COVID-19 infection rate. Second, in terms of the economy factor, primary industry has a negative relationship with COVID-19 infection rate. Third, in the matter of social factor, it is found that population density and percentage of high-rise residential unit are positively related with COVID-19 infection rate. The result from this study can provides an insight for policymakers to understand factors contribute on the spread and severity of COVID-19 to informing better mitigation policy and control measures.