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PUTRAJAYA, January 21: The COVID-19 assessment center is expected to begin operating next week to coordinate and integrate public and private hospitals in the management of pandemic cases in the country.
Health Director General Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said that next Saturday they will hold the third conversation with the private hospital to discuss the details and technical implementations of the center.
“We will discuss all existing problems and try to solve them, as well as coordinate the work process in round tables between the public and private sectors.
“So we hope that when we establish the COVID-19 screening center, some groups of patients can be managed by the private sector,” he said at a press conference on the development of COVID-19 here today.
However, he said that since the second wave of COVID-19 hit the country, the private sector had lent a hand to help the government, including mobilizing some of its specialists and staff to work at Sungai Buloh Hospital.
Dr Noor Hisham said that the coordination was not only in terms of managing COVID-19 patients, but they were also investigating hemodialysis centers because most of these cases depended on the private health sector.
“For example, in Tawau, Sabah, staff at a private hemodialysis center were infected and quarantined, but services had to continue because otherwise patients would not have access to hemodialysis. So we from the public sector send our staff to operate the services there, ”he said.
He said the Ministry of Health (MOH) was expected to increase the capacity of COVID-19 laboratories that can perform reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests, to between 100,000 and 150,000 tests per day. .
“So far, we have 68 laboratories that perform 70,000 RT-PCR tests per day and the capacity of these laboratories will be enhanced. We will also increase the detection of COVID-19 by using the Rapid Antigen Test Kit (RTK-Ag), ”he said.
Dr. Noor Hisham also said that the cooperation of the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), private universities and private laboratories was needed to increase the capacity of the laboratories.
“We are encouraging the private sector to come forward and help increase the capacity of the labs … we need to maximize their use,” he said.
Commenting on the increase in cases and groups related to funerals, Dr. Noor Hisham said that the Health Ministry has suggested that such gatherings be limited to a maximum of 20 people to avoid possible infection.
“We understand that funerals are a sensitive subject, for cultural and emotional reasons. But we hope that at this time, those involved will comply with the established SOP (standard operating procedure) and obtain a police permit first, ”he said. Called
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