COVID-19 | As hospital beds fill up in Sabah, those who test positive have to wait in the queue to be admitted for treatment and observation.
Patients who spoke to Malaysiakini said they had to wait several days to receive swab test results and then several days more to be taken into either a hospital or quarantine and light symptoms observation centre.
Zainuddin Abdul Khalic from Kinarut waited five days for his test result, and another two days before he and his wife were taken to a quarantine and light symptoms observation centre.
His case caught the attention of Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, after Zainuddin left a message on Noor Hisham's Facebook page, seeking assistance after he felt shortness of breath.
"Tan Sri, my wife and I just got our positive test results five days after our swab test, but we are still at home.
"No one (from the Health Ministry) came to fetch us, and now I am feeling shortness of breath. None of the (MOH) hotlines were picking up," Zainuddin wrote.
Following his posting on Noor Hisham's Facebook page, the DG's officers had sought information about Zainuddin's case from the local health department.
As a result, this morning, he and his wife were brought to the Pusat Latihan Kecemerlangan Koperasi, which has been converted into a quarantine and light symptoms observation centre.
Zainuddin said he is thankful for the quick response by the DG and his team.
"Maybe at first they are overwhelmed because of the rapid rise in cases, but they are doing their best, and I believe they are getting their rhythm again," he told Malaysiakini.
He added that his children were also swabbed by MOH staff today and are now under the care of volunteers while the couple is under treatment.
'Call 999 if you have difficulty breathing'
Meanwhile, a Kota Kinabalu resident said her family waited five days for their test result and three more days before they were taken in for treatment and observation earlier this month.
Speaking to Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity, she said her family sought testing through a private facility after her mother tested positive at a private hospital before undergoing a procedure.
Even so, they had to wait five days for their results, during which they observed self-quarantine.
She added that the Health Ministry first contacted the family a day after they received their positive result, to get more details of their whereabouts for contact tracing.
"I asked the officer when we would be brought in to the hospital or quarantine centre, but he told me the beds are full and there was no availability at the moment.
"We were told to call 999 if we had breathing difficulty, and they would definitely send an ambulance in this case," she said.
She said two days later, some of the family members were sent to a quarantine centre at Kompleks Sukan Likas, while one of them who was deemed "high risk" was admitted to a hospital.
"I'm guessing they are prioritising those with severe symptoms, stage 3 and above, for treatment which I completely understand," she said.
She added that when she was taken to the quarantine centre, about five percent of beds were available because some patients had been discharged.
She said her mother, who is still coughing, has been discharged from hospital.
80-year-old waits two weeks
This experience is echoed by others who took to social media to lament the anxious wait for treatment.
In Tawau, a senior citizen waited 16 days before being taken to hospital.
"Grandma is 80 years old and taking medication for high blood pressure. Yesterday, the ministry said there is just one van available to fetch Covid-19 positive patients, so we just have to wait and be patient," the woman's granddaughter wrote on social media.
She said her grandmother tested positive using the antigen rapid test kit (RTK) on Oct 3 and was retested using the more sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on Oct 6.
She only received the PCR test results 10 days later.
"I'm just sharing our current situation here in Tawau. I know that (MOH is) doing their best each and every day.
"The staff who came to do the swab test, put on the quarantine bracelet, conduct observation and the second test were all very friendly, but also looked very tired," she said.
The granddaughter declined to be identified.
Sabah has sustained daily triple-digit rise in cases in the past fortnight, placing pressure on the healthcare system.
Experts said it might be mere weeks before the system collapses if more support is not given.
The ministry said it is addressing the situation by deploying more personnel to hotspot areas, adding hospital beds, opening up more quarantine and light symptoms treatment and observation centres and using military resources for treatment and transport of tests to the peninsular for testing.
Yesterday, Sabah recorded its 38th death in 10 days.
In the same period, only one death in Malaysia has been recorded outside of Sabah.
On Friday, MOH said 70 percent of ICU beds in Sabah are filled while 76 percent of regular beds are taken up. - Mkini
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