Refusal to allow Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms to stay home has helped - DG

CORONAVIRUS | The country has managed to control the local Covid-19 infection rate due to its policy in which all patients positive with the virus are isolated and given treatment by the government healthcare services, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The Health Ministry director-general said this makes the practice employed by Malaysia different from some countries, where only those who show strong symptoms get to be admitted into hospitals.

"When we do tests, if a patient is still found positive with the virus, we make sure that they stay in the hospital (until they are cleared of the virus).

"This is different than in other countries. Like in the UK for example, those who are tested positive but show mild symptoms are advised to stay at home.

"But us (Malaysia), when someone is positive, we isolate them at hospitals. This is why 88 percent of the positive cases we have are those who show mild symptoms.

"When monitoring and treatment are given (early), we get a much better outcome," he told a press conference in Putrajaya this evening.

[More to follow] - Mkini