He said the ministry’s geographical information system found that 3,496 out of 40,555, or 8.6%, of the cases globally that tested positive for the virus have recorded a recovery, while 910 deaths were recorded as of Feb 10.

With the mortality rate standing at 2.2%, the recovery rate was four times higher, Dzukefly said.

For comparison, the mortality rate during the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2003 was 9.6%. The SARS epidemic, which also originated in China, caused 8,098 people to be sick and claimed 774 lives worldwide.

Out of the total number of coronavirus patients who recovered, the majority is in China with 3,468 cases; 10 in Thailand; two in Singapore; three in Malaysia and the rest in other countries.

“This should be seen as a positive development not only for Malaysia but for the whole world.

“It’s good news that the coronavirus is not a death sentence,” the minister said in an interview with Bernama at his office here.

The three coronavirus patients in Malaysia who had recovered as of yesterday were all China nationals, comprising two men aged 63 and 40, and a four-year-old girl.

Asked whether the country’s hot weather could increase the spread of the infection, Dzulkefly said it was unlikely to have any impact.

Instead, he expected the infection rate to slow down as the virus was said to be more active in cold weather.

“Like in China, the virus spread in winter and most viruses with pneumonia-like diseases are more active in winter.

“In hot weather, we expect not much of an effect because the virus will be killed at high temperatures (when the virus is outside the body or on the surface of an object),” he said.