MIRI – Sibu Hospital, which is the medical hub of central Sarawak, will not be able to handle another explosion of Covid-19 cases in the district.
Sibu Municipal Council chairman Clarence Ting said the hospital is already operating at full capacity due to the daily increase in cases.
“The hospital is already having to cope with so many Covid-19 cases daily,” he said. “The occupancy rate is already full, and that is not a good thing.
“We cannot let another major Covid-19 outbreak happen again in Sibu district or the surrounding districts. That will really overwhelm the Sibu Hospital, which is already struggling daily. The rakyat must realise that they must do their part to prevent more infections from happening.”
Ting was speaking during a live social media session today to update people on the latest Covid-19 situation here.
Sibu Hospital has been handling about 950 patients daily since early last month.
The hospital not only caters to patients from the town, but also from the surrounding districts of Kanowit, Selangau, and Mukah.
Ting said the authorities have enacted enough strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) to try to contain the Covid-19 pandemic there.
The rakyat need to cooperate by wearing facemasks and practising social distancing and personal hygiene, he said.
Meanwhile, Sibu netizens have called on the health authorities to sanitise the Sibu Old Folks Home operated by the Chinese Benevolent Society, as well as the one operated by the state government.
This follows the death of a senior inmate at the home operated by the society yesterday, due to a suspected Covid-19 infection. So far, ten other residents in the home have been sent to Sibu Hospital after they were tested positive.
The health authorities are still trying to determine the source of the coronavirus infection in the home, which houses about 40 senior citizens. – The Vibes, February 16, 2021
