COVID-19 | At least a dozen staff and several patients at Hospital Serdang have been infected with Covid-19 this month, raising the alarm of yet another public hospital outbreak.
Multiple hospital sources told Malaysiakini infections among them, including nurses and specialists, in several departments and wards were first detected early this month.
It is learnt that the infections are part of the Lestari cluster announced on Dec 13 as detected in the districts of Petaling, Hulu Langat, Klang dan Sepang.
The cluster, linked to a nursing home, has 42 cases to date.
Hospital Serdang is located in the Dengkil subdistrict (mukim) of the Sepang district.
Among departments affected include the cardiology and cardiothoracic department, multiple sources told Malaysiakini.
This came after the Selangor Health Department (JKNS) yesterday confirmed 50 staff members and an undisclosed number of patients at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang tested positive for Covid-19.
Malaysiakini learnt at least 50 patients who were hospitalised for non-Covid issues at HTAR have also tested positive for Covid-19 and have been sent to Hospital Sungai Buloh for treatment and observation.
HTAR, which has 1,094 beds, is a Covid-19 hospital, while the 763-bedded Hospital Serdang does not treat Covid-19.
Malaysiakini yesterday contacted JKNS, Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and Selangor exco in charge of health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud to seek confirmation on the Hospital Serdang infections.
Siti Mariah said she has no knowledge of it as all information is held by the JKNS and Health Ministry, while the latter has yet to respond to requests for comment.
Hospital short-staffed due to quarantine requirements
Meanwhile, multiple sources confirmed to Malaysiakini that several departments in Hospital Serdang are under pressure after both infected staff and those who had contact with them were placed under quarantine.
According to the Health Ministry procedure, those who had close contact with Covid-19 patients have to be swabbed and must undergo home quarantine for 10 days.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported sources as saying that several hospitals in Selangor are facing infections among staff.
It is learnt that some Selangor hospitals are now imposing mandatory pre-admission Covid-19 tests.
Before this, screening was done using a questionnaire to assess the potential risk of Covid-19 infection, with only higher-risk patients tested before admission.
Selangor is currently the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia with 7,363 cases reported in the past fortnight, mostly concentrated in factories and construction sites.
The sub-district (mukim) of Dengkil, where Hospital Serdang is located, reported 129 cases in the past fortnight. - Mkini
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