LABUAN – The bed occupancy for Covid-19 treatment at Labuan Nucleus Hospital has reached maximum capacity, said territory Health Department director Dr Ismuni Bohari.
He said the only choice left is to maximise (capacity) and fully utilise hospital space to cater to the increasing number of daily high-risk Covid-19 patients.
“Despite the daily increase in the number of positive cases, the hospital’s capability and emergency preparedness remained intact and we will do our level best to deliver up to the people’s expectation,” he told Bernama today.
Dr Ismuni said several wards and medical facilities in the hospital have also been dedicated to Covid-19 treatment.
He also said seven Covid-19 patients in the hospital are depending on medical ventilators.
“We only have 11 units of ventilators – seven are being used and four units are for other patients with breathing difficulties,” he said.
Dr Ismuni said in the event of further spikes in daily cases, it is likely certain areas in the existing low-risk quarantine centre at Dewan Serbaguna Perbadanan Labuan (situated next to the hospital) would be turned into a Covid-19 ward.
“We must be prepared for the worst. If the situation worsens, we have a contingency plan to turn the hostel of the Labuan Industrial Training Institute into a temporary hospital for non-Covid-19 patients,” he said.
Labuan has recorded 253 new cases, its highest so far, with a new cluster emerging in Simpang Sungai (in a densely-populated village), and one death today.
Labuan, Malaysia’s international business and financial centre, has logged a cumulative total of 3,423 infections, with five active clusters in Layang-Layangan, Victoria Merdeka, Simpang Sahari, Patau-Patau and the latest cluster in Simpang Sungai. Its death toll stands at 18. – Bernama, May 29, 2021
