KOTA KINABALU - The west coast of Sabah is expected to be the next hotspot for Covid-19, said Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
Masidi who is Sabah’s Covid 19 spokesperson said that the number of cases in the east coast appears to have declined and statistics show a surge in cases in the west coast.
“If you look at the Covid-19 statistics of Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Tuaran, Putatan, you will see an increase in the daily number of cases. So, I suppose the pressure will be on the west coast now.
“The good news is that in the west coast, quite a number of buildings have been converted into low-risk treatment centres and that would mitigate the pressure for hospital beds,” said Masidi.
When asked if there were any plans in place for Kota Kinabalu and its surrounding areas to prepare in the event there is a rise in cases, Masidi said mass testing and contact tracing is the best approach in preventing a surge in numbers.
Masidi said Sabah will seek for additional medical personnel from the Ministry of Health.
"Yes, we will try to get as many as we require but what we are doing now is hoping is for more medical frontliners, because currently we are relying on volunteers also getting assistance from private hospitals,” he added.
Now we have 453 medical personnel from West Malaysia who have been mobilised to Sabah.
Meanwhile, Masidi also said at present there are no plans to open field hospitals.
“At present, the armed forces are assisting the Health Ministry to open up a treatment centre in the Kepayan Prison. However, if there is a need, the government will consider opening such hospitals in other districts,” he said.
He added the Armed Forces Field Hospital in Tawau has served 142 patients, 28 under treatment and its daily bed occupancy stands at 30%. – The Vibes, October 29, 2020
