[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA: Amid anxiety over the rapid rise in Covid-19 numbers in the country, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (photo) assures the public that the situation is still manageable and under control.
Promising his government’s commitment to contain the spread of the virus, the Prime Minister emphasized that outbreaks in recent times occurred in areas and conglomerates that had been identified and could be isolated.
He said many of the recent infections occurred among detainees in prison, in specific enhanced motion control order (MCO) areas and in groups that were already delineated.
“All of these areas are always being monitored and active contact tracing and case detection activities are taking place to ensure that positive cases are identified and isolated.
“This has led to many more positive cases of Covid-19 being detected. Hope people understand this.
“I want to emphasize that the situation is still under control and well managed by the government agencies involved,” he said yesterday in a Facebook post.
He said he was informed during a special meeting that 128 of the 287 cases reported on Friday involved staff members and detainees at Alor Setar prison.
“The remaining cases were reported in Sabah and some states on the peninsula,” he said.
“The presentation of the Ministry of Health showed that the number of Covid-19 cases in Sabah to date involved 139 people, which is approximately 1.18% of the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country (so far ) “.
Muhyiddin chaired a special meeting of the National Security Council on Covid-19 yesterday.
At the meeting, he said he was informed that the cases in Sabah were found to have stemmed from the entry of undocumented immigrants from neighboring countries.
“As such, the government has decided that all undocumented migrants who have been detained should be screened and placed in temporary detention and quarantine centers (PTS) that will be prepared in advance.
“At the moment, the PTS in Sabah has exceeded its capacity,” he said, adding that more PTS would be established for detained migrants before they are deported.
He also said that more health workers would be posted to examine detained migrants.
He also said that more security forces will be sent to control the country’s border to stop the entry of undocumented immigrants, especially in Sabah.
(At a press conference yesterday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said more security personnel and assets would be deployed to strengthen border control on the east coast of Sabah, as part of Ops Benteng. Detainees, whether or not they have documents, they will have to undergo a quarantine of 14 days in the authorized centers).
Muhyiddin emphasized that Malaysia’s level of preparedness was high, adding that there were 40 hospitals and 34 low-risk Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centers, with a capacity of 5,674 beds.
“The bed utilization rate in Covid-19 hospitals right now is 24%,” he said.
Regarding health facilities, he said there were 437 intensive care unit beds and 1,505 ventilators available.
“I wish to urge the rakyat to remain calm when facing the situation.
“I am confident that our leading team, especially the Ministry of Health and the security forces, have the capacity and experience to handle the situation well,” he said.
[ad_2]
