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Fatimah Abdullah |
KUCHING (Feb 17): Most Covid-19 cases in elderly care facilities have been found to be traced back to staff who became infected elsewhere, said the Minister of Welfare, Community Welfare, Women, Family and Child Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
As such, he said the Ministry is forcing workers in such premises to wear aprons, masks and gloves when dealing with occupants, as well as adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of Covid-19. .
“We call on call centers to strongly remind their staff to be vigilant and careful about where they go when they are off the premises.
“These care centers must ensure that there is a sufficient supply of masks, gloves and hand sanitizers, while also ensuring that their facilities are disinfected regularly,” he said today at a press conference.
Fatimah was commenting on recent Covid-19 deaths involving two nursing homes for the elderly in Sibu.
The deaths and the large number of positive cases detected through contact tracing in nursing homes have also led to two new groups declared in Sibu, namely the Gerunggang Group and the Mas Merah Group.
“We are very concerned because the elderly are part of the high risk group.
“The director of the Sarawak Health Department said on February 15 that another 31 occupants had been infected. Authorities are still investigating whether the infections were related to the Pasai Cluster, which is currently the largest and most active cluster, ”he added.
He also said that the Department of Social Welfare (JKM) ordered the closure of these two nursing homes to make way for sanitation and disinfection work.
He revealed that it was discovered that one of the affected nursing homes was not registered, despite being in operation for three years, but assured that consultations are now being carried out to ensure that this nursing home is properly registered once the pandemic is under control.
He also said that according to the chronology of one of the deaths, the deceased who was an occupant of the nursing home had just returned from visiting family on February 9 and was found to be suffering from shortness of breath.
The nursing home operator sent the victim to Sibu Hospital, who then tested positive for Covid-19 before succumbing to the disease.
As for the other death, he said it involved a worker from another nursing home.
“According to the care center supervisor, the probability of infection comes from workers living in a longhouse in Salim.
“This is because not all occupants can leave the premises or receive visits from outside,” he said.
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