SMG donates respirators to Sabah Health Dept
KOTA KINABALU: The state Health Department has taken delivery of 15 units of powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs) donated by Star Media Group (SMG) as part of its Frontliners Initiative.
Department director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said such respiratory equipment would help health frontliners in their battle against Covid-19.
“Thanks to all those who have contributed medical supplies throughout this period.
“We would not have made it this far without all of you,” she said after receiving the PAPRs from The
Star’s Sabah bureau chief Datuk Muguntan Vanar.
Dr Rundi said the respirators were important. “We will distribute these PAPRs to the main hospitals in Sabah,” she said.
This is not the first donation under SMG’s Star Frontliners Initiative to the state’s health services.
In April, 150,000 surgical gloves were presented to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital while personal protective equipment was delivered to various hospitals in Sabah the following month.
The Frontliners Initiative was launched under Star Foundation to raise funds for the purchase of medical supplies and personal protective equipment for hospitals and medical staff nationwide battling Covid-19.
Dr Rundi said although the decreasing number of cases had allowed health officials to finally take a breather, the battle was not over yet.
“It is important that all of us adapt to the new normal in our lifestyle,” she said.
She said the state Health Department was in the midst of developing district hospitals so that they could handle more patients to prevent overcrowding in the major hospitals.
She cautioned that if there was no change in how people conducted their day-to-day lives and how hospitals carried out their daily operation, all that had been overcome in the past three months would be in vain.