Set up separate facility for coronavirus cases, says Sarawak rep

Muara Tuang assemblyman Idris Buang says the facility should not be near hospitals to protect other patients and visitors. (AP pic)

KUCHING: A Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leader has proposed that Putrajaya and Sarawak should work together to set up a special facility for patients suspected to be infected with the Wuhan coronavirus or those placed under quarantine.

Muara Tuang assemblyman Idris Buang said this after a second patient was reported to be having symptoms similar to the Wuhan coronavirus infection in Sarawak.

Yesterday, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said a patient suspected of having the infection had been hospitalised in Bintulu.

The patients are currently receiving treatment at the Bintulu Hospital and Sarawak General Hospital pending lab reports.

Idris said those who had been suspected to be infected with the virus should not be placed at the hospitals as other patients would be at risk.

“Placing the patients in these hospitals would put other patients and visitors at risk.

“There should be a totally new facility, even if it is just a makeshift one. For example, it can be sterilised, clean and fit-for-purpose (cargo) containers, equipped with medical instruments and apparatus,” he said.

The facility, he said, must be far away from the already crowded and cramped hospitals to avoid spreading the virus to other patients.

The health ministry had earlier announced a list of 26 hospitals in the country that would serve as referral hospitals in handling cases of patients under investigation and those confirmed with the Wuhan virus.

For Sarawak, the referral hospitals are the Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching, Miri Hospital, Bintulu Hospital and Sibu Hospital. - FMT