COVID-19 | Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah stressed that it is not true that Sabah's healthcare system is collapsing as cases continue to spike in the state.
"As far as Sabah is concerned, the healthcare system still has the capacity. It is not true what you have read.
"I am not sure why people like to have a negative perception when the facts and figures are showing differently.
"This is the latest information we get, and we hope it will continue, and we will enhance our activities in public health intervention in Sabah," Dr Noor Hisham said in his press conference today.
Even though the number of daily cases in the state remains high, he said there are also people being discharged every day.
As such, he said, only 52 percent of hospital beds in Sabah are being used, whereas only 28 percent of beds in quarantine centres are occupied.
For example, he said, there were 1,240 new cases today, but 508 of them are confined to the prison, which has its own quarantine centre.
Noor Hisham also insisted again that the ministry is still merely considering placing Covid-19 patients at home if they were to be short on beds in the hospitals and quarantine centres.
"So far, that is not our policy yet," he said.
He had said the same thing previously, despite Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Masidi Manjun (photo) confirming that arrangements have been made for some Covid-19 patients in the state to receive treatment at home.
Previously, Masidi had also said that hospital beds in Sabah are almost fully occupied, with 99.5 percent of them filled.
Noor Hisham today reminded that there are 24 hospitals in the state of Sabah and only nine are being used to treat Covid-19 patients, with an additional field hospital near Hospital Tawau set up for non-Covid-19 patients.
He also reiterated that they are more prepared to deal with the third wave of Covid-19.
"It is not true that the healthcare system in Sabah is collapsing, but we admit that it is more difficult and challenging.
"However, we are more prepared this time than before in March in terms of human resources, facilities and personal protective equipment (PPEs)," he said.
The ministry had started preparing much earlier and had sent more human resources, equipment and PPEs as well as increased the bed capacity in Sabah, he said.
He did acknowledge that there is a need for better coordination at the state level in Sabah.
"All the issues we have, we have already addressed, and hopefully, we need more coordination.
"Just like what we did at the national level, it is not only the Health Ministry, but we also work closely with the police, the military, the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and all the other agencies.
"This is what we need in Sabah. Hopefully, coordination in the state should be enhanced further; then we can win this war," he said.
He said their efforts had seen some positive signs on the east coast of Sabah, but it will likely take another four weeks before the infection can be contained in Sabah.
"We have not lost the war yet, but neither have we won it," he said. - Mkini
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