MIRI – This month saw 35,517 new Covid-19 cases in Sarawak, marking a 224% increase from July’s caseload, largely due to cases of the Delta strain.
Sarawak Health Department director Datuk Dr Mohamed Sapian Mohamed said hospitals in the state may soon reach critical levels again as there has been a marked rise in new daily cases for the past 12 days.
“We are now planning to urgently open another 10 centres for isolation, quarantine, and treatment outside state hospitals to cater to the rising cases.
“We already have 45 such centres with more than 8,500 beds, but it will not be enough to cater to the daily numbers of patients admitted.
“The Delta variant is the cause of the surge, as it is up to eight times more infectious than the original Covid-19 strain,” he told the State Disaster Management Committee in his latest report.
“The most worrying thing is that at least 30% of the new cases involve those aged below 18 who are unvaccinated.
“Those vaccinated are less likely to succumb to severe symptoms, but the unvaccinated are exposed to more serious health issues.”
Yesterday, an 8-year-old girl died of Covid-19 in Serian Hospital, the youngest coronavirus victim in Sarawak so far.
Three days ago, a 17-year-old boy in Kuching also died of Covid-19. – The Vibes, August 30, 2021
