Sabah's QE Hospital II reduces number of ICU patients from 8 to 6, after two nurses contract Covid-19

KOTA KINABALU - The intensive care unit (ICU) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital II will operate at almost half its normal capacity after two nurses tested positive for Covid-19.

Health Minister director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today, the hospital's ICU will operate as usual, but the number of patients has been reduced from eight to six.

According to Noor Hisham, a nurse assigned to the Queen Elizabeth II intensive care unit here has been found positive Covid-19 after showing symptoms. She was screened on October 6.

Subsequently, 92 medical officers and nurses had to undergo the RTK antigen and RT-PCR tests on October 9, and as a result, another nurse who was a close contact to the patient was also found positive. 

The test results for the rest returned negative, he said. 

“At present, 40 of the 66 nurses are undergoing home quarantine. The cause of the infection is still being investigated. The majority of the infections involving health workers in Sabah is from the community and from other health workers and other officers,” he added. 

A total of 579 health and medical staff from various departments in the Health Ministry nationwide had been infected by the deadly virus since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak until October 9, this year.

For Sabah alone, 198 staff have been infected by the virus, with 85 of them testing positive in the first ten days of October, in contrast to the 66 who tested positive for the whole of September.

Noor Hisham said all health workers must wear the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) while on duty and observe all SOPs at work and while in the community. 

“Clinical practice and prevention are of utmost importance. Tight working spaces and pantry at the workplace must be cleaned at all times to avoid the spread of the virus at the workplace. 

“The war against Covid-19 brings forth the risk of infection to health workers if the prevention measures are not followed,” he said. – The Vibes, October 10, 2020