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PETALING JAYA: The current third wave of Covid-19 has already infected more than 1,300 healthcare workers and nurses are the worst affected, leading to a new call for such professionals to receive the vaccine first when it becomes available.
This comes as Malaysia reached an unwanted milestone with 1,683 new cases reported yesterday, bringing the country’s total to 90,816 cases since the pandemic began. Health Director General Tan Sri Dr. 1,359 healthcare workers had been infected since the third wave began in October, shortly after Sabah’s state elections.
This current phase of infections represents 76.7% of the 1,771 cases involving healthcare workers to date.
Nurses were the most vulnerable, with 690 cases so far.
“About 152 cases or 8.6% were infections from unconfirmed Covid-19 patients.
“As of December 18,280 workers are receiving treatment in hospitals and are in stable condition with a recovery rate of 84.2%.
“Meanwhile, 1,697 healthcare workers are currently under a home surveillance order (as a security measure),” said Dr. Noor Hisham.
Based on the research, he said that 587 (33.1%) of affected healthcare workers were infected by the community, while 565 (31.9%) were infected by their professional peers.
He said 152 (8.6%) contracted the virus from patients who had not yet been diagnosed with Covid-19, while 409 (23.1%) cases were still under investigation and 58 (3.3%) infections were due to unknown causes.
Klang Valley hospitals were also reported to have the most infections.
Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) in Klang topped the list with 54 cases followed by Serdang Hospital (29), Sungai Buloh Hospital (15) and Kuala Lumpur Hospital (10). Five cases were linked to Ampang Hospital and four to Selayang Hospital.
“The dramatic increase is believed to be related to the increase in cases within the community.
“However, all cases in hospitals are controlled and health services are not interrupted,” said Dr. Noor Hisham.
He added that a similar increase had been seen in Sabah when there was an increase in cases within the community there.
On the current situation at HTAR and Serdang Hospital, DG Health said that as of December 18, a total of 72 HTAR staff members were currently in quarantine.
“Currently, 29 health workers and 28 patients from Serdang Hospital have tested positive and have been sent to Sungai Buloh Hospital for further treatment,” he said. Meanwhile, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) President Datuk, Dr. M. Subramaniam, urged all Malaysians to be extra observant and to take extra precautions at all times, be they healthcare personnel or members of the public.
“Healthcare workers probably contracted the virus from their patients. That is why we are trying to vaccinate those on the front lines first when the vaccine becomes available early next year, “he said.
He added that MMA also hoped the vaccine would be distributed beyond government hospitals.
Dr. Subramaniam also highlighted the need to involve general practitioners (GPs) in situations like this.
“There are about 7,000 GPs who can be helpful,” he said.
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