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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Ministry of Health said on Monday (December 28) that it still had the capacity to accommodate COVID-19 patients, while acknowledging that there were logistical issues in transferring positive cases from their homes to hospitals for quarantine and treatment.
In his daily press conference on Monday, Health Director-General Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said the delays, mainly in the Klang Valley, were due to the increase in the number of positive cases.
“Our main focus is on groups, let’s say groups of foreigners or foreign workers, where we can send a bus to transfer the whole group to the quarantine center.”
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“But for people in different areas, it takes time to transfer them to the two quarantine centers in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. The capacity to serve more patients is there, but now we are looking at the logistics,” explained Dr. Noor Hisham.
He also said the ministry was trying to increase bed capacity at Malaysia Agro Exposition Serdang, which has been converted from an exhibition venue to a quarantine center for low-risk COVID-19 cases.
The center, which reopened on December 9 with a capacity of 3,100 beds, had another 3,032 beds added on Monday, with space for 10,000 more if needed.
Workers wait in line to leave a Top Glove factory after their shifts in Klang, Malaysia, on December 7, 2020. Photo taken on December 7, 2020. REUTERS / Lim Huey Teng
Dr. Noor Hisham added that the ministry was also considering quarantining COVID-19 patients at home.
“However, if we want to carry out this, we must evaluate some criteria, such as the suitability of the house, the room, the bathroom, etc.”
“We need to look at health screening tools and how our officers can monitor someone’s health in the home. So we are considering the possibility, but we haven’t changed our policy yet. We continue to quarantine positive cases in hospitals, “said Dr. Noor Hisham. said.
The ministry was also considering using workers’ dormitories as quarantine centers, as it had done for COVID-19 category 1 and 2 (asymptomatic and mild symptoms) patients in the Teratai group.
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Dr. Noor Hisham advised people who tested positive to mask and isolate themselves at home, staying away from family members.
Additionally, they should remain in contact with their local district health office to allow officers to keep up with their health status and to facilitate transfers to quarantine centers.
As of December 28, Malaysia has 20,643 active cases of COVID-19, with 1,594 new cases registered today. A record 2,335 new infections were reported on December 26.
READ: Malaysia reports new daily high of 2,335 COVID-19 cases
Earlier on Monday, Malaysian media reported that Dr. Noor Hisham advised those who had tested positive for COVID-19, but were asymptomatic, to isolate themselves at home as they could not go to hospitals immediately.
This first self-isolation move, Dr. Noor Hisham had explained, was due to the large number of cases and logistical problems in transporting patients to hospitals.
Medical workers conduct a COVID-19 smear test in Malaysia. (Photo: AP)
Dr Noor Hisham’s response had come in relation to a complaint from a local business owner, questioning how the Malaysian Ministry of Health updated their contact tracing activity through the MySejahtera tracking app.
Three of the company’s owner’s employees had tested positive for the disease, but had not yet been contacted or taken to government hospitals.
The CEO also warned the public in a Facebook post not to lie to healthcare workers about her symptoms, after a doctor working in Sabah detailed her experience dealing with a patient who had hidden her history of illness while was undergoing a CT scan.
Later, the doctor wrote that he tested positive for COVID-19.
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Meanwhile, the conditional movement control order (CMCO) for the states of Selangor, Sabah and the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur was extended until January 14.
The CMCOs were scheduled to end on December 31, following their reimposition on October 14 and subsequent extensions.
However, interstate travel was suspended for all states as of December 7.
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