Additional 539 beds in 14 public hospitals allocated to treat Covid-19 patients

TheEdge Tue, Jan 19, 2021 09:55pm - 3 years View Original


KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19): With the increasing number of active cases nationwide, the Ministry of Health has designated another 14 public hospitals with 539 total beds to treat Covid-19 patients, especially those who are in Category 3,4 and 5.

They comprise164 beds in Selangor, 90 beds in Pahang, 72 beds in Johor, 60 beds in Kedah, 56 beds in Terengganu, 44 beds in Sarawak, 29 beds in Sabah and 24 beds in Kelantan, the ministry said.

The 14 hospitals, and the respective number of beds allocated for Covid-19 patients, are as follows:

·         Serdang Hospital in Selangor with 108 beds

·         Selayang Hospital in Selangor with 56 beds

·         Pekan Hospital in Pahang with 12 beds

·         Jengka Hospital in Pahang with 50 beds

·         Muadzam Shah Hospital in Pahang with 28 beds

·         Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor with 20 beds

·         Muar Hospital in Johor with 24 beds

·         Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital in Johor with 28 beds

·         Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital in Kedah with 60 beds

·         Setiu Hospital in Terengganu with 56 beds

·         Limbang Hospital in Sarawak with 28 beds

·         Sarikei Hospital in Sarawak with 16 beds

·         Kudat Hospital in Sabah with 29 beds

·         Jeli Hospital in Kelantan with 24 beds

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the additional beds are to cater for Covid-19 patients in Category 3, 4 and 5.

Patients in Category 1 and 2, meanwhile, will be admitted to Quarantine and Low Risk Treatment Centres (PKRC), he told a media briefing today.

Under the MoH’s classification, Category 1 is for positive cases with no symptoms, Category 2 is for positive cases with mild symptoms, Category 3 is for positive cases with pneumonia, Category 4 is for pneumonia cases that require oxygen, and Category 5 is for cases that require breathing assistance.

The latest move comes after the ministry acknowledged that public hospitals were almost at their maximum capacity to accommodate additional Covid-19 patients, leading to a shortage in the number of beds.

Dr Noor Hisham said Category 4 and 5 patients currently account for 15% of Covid-19 patients in public hospitals, versus 3% during the second wave that started on Feb 27, 2020.

With the rising number of patients in Category 4 and 5, death cases have also increased, he noted.

Fourteen new deaths were reported in the country in the 24 hours as of noon today.

Malaysia also reported 3,631 new Covid-19 cases today, pushing the tally of active cases which carry high transmission risks to a new high of 39,464.

This surpassed the 28,674 patient beds — recorded as at Dec 28 — that were allocated for Covid-19 treatment nationwide under the public healthcare system.

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