Family tested positive at wit’s end as health ministry ignores them even after 6 days

 

Civil servant has expressed anxiety over the long wait for the health ministry’s updates as over half of the family members have tested positive so far.

PETALING JAYA: With the number of Covid-19 cases in the country at four digits daily and the healthcare system stretched to its limits, many Malaysians who tested positive have been forced to wait for a call from the health ministry for days.

A civil servant, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed anxiety over the long wait for the ministry’s updates, as over half of the family members have tested positive so far.

“My boss took the initiative to get me to do a swab test after my spouse tested positive. When I was found positive, my boss arranged for my relatives and children to also do the test.

“Some relatives tested positive too, but the health ministry still has not called,” the government servant told FMT.

“I understand that they are overloaded with cases, but we are stuck.”

Having waited six days for the phone to ring, the family is at a loss at what to do. They have not received any pink wristbands or any other indication to show that they had to be quarantined, despite reporting themselves through the MySejahtera mobile app.

Even worse, the children in the house have also begun to exhibit symptoms, but the family is still awaiting their test results. Only the civil servant’s spouse has been taken to hospital for treatment.

“I want to bring my children to hospital but since we don’t have the results, I don’t know what to do. I just want advice or some sort of guideline. We all live under the same roof and it’s not impossible for all of us in this house to turn out positive.”

The government worker added that public hospitals have been of no help as the family was only advised to call 999 if anyone showed severe symptoms of Covid-19.

For now, the family has resorted to asking friends to help buy medicines to treat those who are ill.

“Why is it that when I tested positive, the health ministry did not call the rest of my family in to take the swab test? Why did we have to take the initiative ourselves?

“What about those who cannot afford these tests? As it is, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test costs about RM250 per person.”

FMT previously reported a similar case, where a family of six in Petaling Jaya had not received a call from the health ministry for days after testing positive.

They only got a response after they threatened to sue if anyone died. Even then, only two elderly members of the family were admitted to hospital.

Yesterday, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah urged those awaiting a call from ministry officials to report themselves via MySejahtera, advising them to carry out the symptom monitoring assessment in the app for 10 consecutive days.

Users registered as positive cases at the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre would also be able to receive notifications via SMS and via MySejahtera.

“If the user has symptoms, the information will continue to be channelled to the Covid-19 Assessment Centre and the user will be contacted by a health worker for further evaluation,” he had said.

FMT is still awaiting comments from the health ministry. - FMT