KUALA LUMPUR – Effective next Monday, the Health Ministry (MoH) will allow fully vaccinated husbands or immediate family members to be present with wives in the labour room during childbirth, said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said the completed vaccination period for the Pfizer, Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines is 14 days after being administered with the second dose, while it is 28 days after receiving single-dose vaccines, such as CanSino and Johnson & Johnson.
In addition, the husband or immediate family member must undergo a Covid-19 screening test (RT-PCR or RTK-Ag) at any health facility or private laboratory within 72 hours, and the test results must be brought along with the individual before accompanying the pregnant mother into the maternity ward.
“The husband or immediate family member should also limit their movements after undergoing the RT-PCR or RTK-Ag tests,” he said in a statement today.
Dr Noor Hisham said they could also buy a self-test kits approved by the Medical Device Authority (MDA) and take it to the hospital to undergo the Covid-19 test at screening areas provided at the hospital, with monitoring and verification by health staff on duty.
Those who accompany pregnant women are also reminded to always adhere to set standard operating procedures (SOPs) as these groups are at high risk and need to be protected.
“MoH hopes the community, especially pregnant women as well as husbands and family members, can benefit from this facility that has been provided,” he said.
According to the statement, a letter of instruction from the deputy health DG (medical) dated September 28 on the implementation of this initiative has been distributed to all state health directors for implementation from Monday to provide sufficient time for hospitals to carry out the necessary preparations. – Bernama, September 30, 2021
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