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KOTA KINABALU: The increase in Covid-19 cases in Sabah lately was due to a backlog of sample results amounting to 18,000 before, says the state’s Minister of Housing and Local Government, Datuk Masidi Manjun.
Masidi, who is the minister in charge of handling the Covid-19 issue in Sabah, said they have started addressing the backlog since the beginning of this month, and it has dropped to 11,000, which they hope to address soon.
“The increase in cases in Sabah was also due to the expansion of field detection in 15 districts of the red zone.
“So with new and old cases, we expect the number to continue to be high in the coming days,” he told a news conference on Sunday (October 18).
He also said that in the past, they had relied on the time-consuming PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, but now they are switching to RTK (rapid test kit).
Masidi said that after discussing with the state’s Health Director, Datuk Christina Rundi, he assured that hospitals in Sabah can still handle the Covid-19 situation here even though it was considered serious.
“We registered the highest number of new cases daily with 702 today (Sunday).
“But I can assure you that we can still manage.
“We have converted many facilities into makeshift wards and quarantine centers for less serious cases, and for those with whole families infected, we can suggest home quarantine.
“Only severe cases will be admitted to hospitals,” he said.
So far, Masidi said 383 Covid-19 patients are being treated in hospitals across the state and 4,174 are placed in extra makeshift wards.
On another question, Masidi said that Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor is expected to return to his duties in the middle of next week after recovering from the infection.
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