‘Be prepared for more cases’
Noor Hisham: Authorities bracing for uptrend in infections
PUTRAJAYA: Health authorities are stepping up efforts to detect Covid-19 cases and are bracing for an uptrend in the number of positive cases in the days ahead, says Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
The Health director-general said this following a record high number of Covid-19 cases in two consecutive days in Malaysia yesterday, with 317 new infections – the highest daily increase yet (it was 287 cases on Friday).
“Four districts in Sabah, namely Lahad Datu, Tawau, Kunak and Semporna, are under the targeted enhanced movement control order with aggressive screening ongoing.
“As our field activities are focused on those areas, we expect to see an increase in cases in the next few days.
“The expected increase in cases is also because of the additional screenings for both international and domestic returnees to Sabah.
“This will enable us to trace the positive cases and isolate them, before conducting acute case detection on these cases,” he said here yesterday.
One death involving a 57-yearold man with a history of diabetes, high blood pressure and dyslipidemia was recorded in Sabah, bringing our death toll to 137, he said.
Sabah contributed the most cases at 155, followed by Kedah (102), Selangor (32), Terengganu (nine), four each in Kuala Lumpur and Johor, three each in Sarawak and Penang, two each in Kelantan and Putrajaya, and one in Negri Sembilan.
Dr Noor Hisham said since Sept 27, a total of 14,747 individuals who returned to Sabah had been screened with 176 (1.19%) testing positive.
He noted that efforts to curb the pandemic were now focused on Sabah, as the ministry had so far mobilised healthcare teams from the peninsula to strengthen its team and service delivery there.
“We have sent teams not only from Sarawak and Labuan, but also from Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur to Sabah.
“We have sufficient medical equipment and staff to handle the situation coupled with the cooperation of various departments and agencies.
“We hope to control the spread of the virus within the next two weeks,” he said, adding that the infection in Kedah prison was also under control as all inmates and wardens had been screened.
He noted that Sabah had six hospitals along with six quarantine and low-risk treatment centres with 590 beds and 1,396 beds respectively.
“As of Friday, the government hospital’s rate of usage is at 69% while the low-risk treatment centres is 31%,” he said, adding that the 66-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was now at 23% usage rate.
Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham noted that the latest fatality involved a patient who delayed in seeking treatment at Hospital Tawau.
Three new clusters – two in Kedah and one in Selangor – were also reported.
“The Bah Lunas cluster has been identified in Kulim with the index case being a 35-year-old local man who had just returned from a highrisk area in Sabah.
“So far, 112 individuals were screened and four tested positive and 87 are waiting for their results,” he said.
The index case for the Bah Rose cluster in Kuala Muda, Kedah, was another 48-year-old Malaysian man who had travelled to Sabah.
Contact tracing on him has led to seven more people tested positive in the cluster.
So far, seven people in Kedah and one in Penang have tested positive in the cluster.
“The Jelok cluster has been identified in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, whereby the index case was a 27-year-old Malaysian man who tested positive on Thursday.
“So far, four people have tested positive in the cluster,” he said, adding that the source of the infections was still under investigation.
Dr Noor Hisham noted that 121 patients recovered yesterday, making the total recoveries at 10,216 or a rate of 84.5%.
The total number of active cases in the country is now 1,735.
The country’s cumulative total cases since the outbreak began in January is 12,088.
There are 29 patients being treated in ICU, with four requiring ventilator support.