FROM OUTBREAKS TO ENDEMIC: ANALYZING THE EVOLUTION OF COVID-19 CLUSTERS IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

From 2020 to 2023, Malaysia experienced multiple waves of COVID-19, with clusters playing a significant role in transmission dynamics. Understanding these clusters is crucial for public health, as their characteristics and management significantly impact outbreak control. Unfortunately, existing regional research often focuses on national-level data, neglecting the insights hidden within cluster-level analysis. In these regards, this research aims to bridge this gap by comprehensively analyzing COVID-19 clusters in Malaysia from 2020 to 2023 through the development of a data dashboard using Microsoft Power BI. To fulfil that, the high-risk areas, the trend of COVID-19 clusters, the active time of each cluster, and the total cases of COVID-19 in each cluster have been identified. As a result, the developed dashboard reveals that the community cluster has the highest death toll of over 500 people while the highest number of COVID-19 infection cases has been recorded by the workplace group (over 300,000 cases) followed by the community group (100,000 cases). It can be induced that community clusters often see higher mortality rates despite the lower number of cases because they often affect more vulnerable populations such as the elderly compared to workplace clusters which usually involve younger working-age individuals. This knowledge will empower policymakers, healthcare professionals, and local communities to tailor their efforts to mitigate future waves and reduce the burden of COVID-19 in Malaysia. Consequently, by bridging the gap in research and focusing on the granular level of clusters, the project aspires to pave the way for a more data-driven and localized approach to pandemic management in Malaysia and across the globe.