MIRI – Sarawak leaders are worried about the increasing “brought in dead” Covid-19 cases, where people infected with the virus are brought in to hospitals too late, and it is no longer possible to save them.
In echoing this concern, state Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian said there are many Sarawakians suffering from ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure and problems on the heart or other organs, who can easily be infected by Covid-19.
Dr Sim, who is a qualified heart surgeon, cited the case of a 73-year-old man who was brought to Sibu Hospital dead on January 29 and was yesterday confirmed to have succumbed to Covid-19.
“The Sibu man was brought in dead by his family to the hospital and tests carried out confirmed that the cause of death was due to Covid-19, even though he had a history of other health problems.
“It is sad that there was no chance to treat and save him,” Dr Sim said in his social media update on the pandemic situation in Sarawak.
“There will be more ‘brought in dead’ cases soon if screening for early diagnosis of Covid-19 is still taken lightly by the public at large,” he said.
Sim said that early diagnosis and treatment can prevent death but many people do not seem to care.
“There are many people with mild Covid-19 symptoms who are still going around in public places and are blissfully spreading the virus everywhere they go,” he said.
“These people are a danger to themselves, their immediate family members and those they encounter in their workplace and in public,” he warned.
This, he stressed, could be the main reason the infection rate in Sarawak has risen so quickly, not just in cities like Kuching and Miri and big towns, like Sibu and Bintulu, but also in native longhouses throughout rural Sarawak.
Sim said anyone with even very mild symptoms, or those who have been to high-risk areas over the past 14 days and those who have come into contact with positive patients or sickly people, must go for Covid-19 screening immediately.
“Don’t wait until it’s too late,” he said.
Sarawak has thus far had 38 deaths from Covid-19 and about 4,500 positive cases, with about half of the deaths and infections reported over the past two weeks alone. – The Vibes, February 1, 2021
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