Health assistance team deployed to East Coast
Published on: Thursday, October 01, 2020
By: Bernama
Kuala Lumpur: Following the spike in Covid-19 cases in Sabah, a health assistance team had been deployed to Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Kunak in stages to assist in the process of contact tracing, community screening as well as to help man the quarantine centres and hospitals.“A total of 10 microbiological science officers and five laboratory technologists have been sent to the Tawau Hospital, Lahad Datu Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Likas Women and Children’s Hospital and Kota Kinabalu Public Health Laboratory to assist with Covid-19 screening process in laboratories.
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“A total of 72 trained nurses have been deployed to the Kunak Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Tenom Hospital, Beluran Hospital, Keningau Hospital, Likas Women and Children’s Hospital and Kota Belud Hospital,” said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic).
He said that in October, a total of 140 medical officers and 225 assistant medical officers would be stationed at the Sabah State Health Department, including clinics, hospitals and area health offices throughout the state, in accordance with vacancies and existing needs.
He explained that at the same time, the welfare of health and medical workers would be given priority to ensure the Ministry of Health’s main assets would be able to carry out their duties to the best of their abilities, including from the logistic and training aspects as well as in terms of their need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Meanwhile, another new Covid-19 cluster has been detected in Kedah, Wednesday, with three cases recorded from the Tembok Cluster in Alor Setar, said Dr Noor Hisham.
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He said the index case of the new Tembok Cluster (case number 11,207) was also the 135th death case of a local man found to be Covid-29 positive on Sept 28.
Following that, he said close contact screening was carried out and two more positive cases were identified.
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“The two positive cases are Malaysians and they have been admitted to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar for treatment. “So far, a total of 169 individuals (connected to the cluster) have been screened, with three positive cases, while 166 individuals are still awaiting their results. Investigations are also underway to determine the source of the infection,” he said in a statement today.
Dr Noor Hisham said more cases were reported in four other clusters, namely the Benteng LD Cluster and Bangau-Bangau Cluster in Sabah; Bakawali Cluster in Johor; and Sungai Cluster in Kedah.
Four new cases were reported in the Benteng LD Cluster (total 879); nine cases in the Bangau-Bangau Cluster (total 287); seven cases in the Bakawali Cluster (total 11); and one case in the Sungai Cluster (total 100). – Bernama
In the meantime, the MV Glen Cluster in Klang, Selangor, which had three positive cases, was declared ended today.
The three cases involved two Malaysians and a foreigner, but no deaths were recorded.
As of Wednesday, there are still 24 active clusters nationwide, with 100 clusters having been declared over.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) today called on the government to look into the possibility of extending the contract of medical officers (MOs) serving in the Health Ministry, to 10 years.
Its president, Prof Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said the contract extension would translate into savings for the government as Malaysia would have ample trained specialists without the need to import specialists in the long run.
“This should not be looked at as an expense but rather an investment in the next generation of specialists,” he said in a statement.
He added that while healthcare costs were on the rise, maintaining long-term permanent positions was inevitable and issues such as brain drain, inadequate specialist training and self-esteem among junior doctors should also be taken into consideration.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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