Lee (seventh left) and Dr Wong, on his right, join the members of MRC Miri committee and the KDC staff in a photo-call taken after the press conference.
MIRI: The Malaysian Red Crescent (MRC) Miri Chapter’s Kidney Dialysis Centre (KDC) has prohibited any public visit to the premises, following the recent detection of positive Covid-19 cases in Sarawak and Brunei.
Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who is also the KDC committee chairman, said this decision was reached during a committee meeting conducted on Friday.
“Since January this year, those at the centre have been taking all the possible precautionary measures, with drawn-up SOP (standard of operating procedure).
“Yesterday (Friday), our committee had a meeting on the recent development of the Covid-19. We are now tightening our precautionary and care measures even more, all for the health and safety of our 377 renal patients at the centre,” he said during a press conference at the KDC here yesterday.
According to Lee, about 30 per cent of the renal patients seeking treatment at the centre are categorised under the high-risk group – namely those aged 60 and above.
“Therefore, we have to take comprehensive precautionary measures at the KDC because we don’t want our patients here to be infected.
“As of now, we do not allow any public visit to the centre and limit only one family member to accompany a patient coming for haemodialysis here. We will disinfect the dialysis hall every four hours – the same goes for other facilities such as wheelchairs and toilets.
“We strive to educate the patients regarding the need to maintain good personal hygiene and cleanliness,” said Lee, adding that all renal patients undergoing scheduled treatments at the KDC and also the accompanying family members, must go for health screening like body temperature checks and physical sanitisation before they could enter the dialysis hall.
“Any suspected case involving the centre’s patients would be referred to Miri Hospital, without delay.
“Should there be any renal patient identified as a person-under-investigation (PUI), an emergency plan had been drawn up for a separate dialysis treatment for such patient.”
On the KDC employees, Lee said the committee had decided to freeze all staff leave until further notice.
It is informed that the centre houses 76 staff members.
“We remind all staff members to strictly adhere to all precautionary measures and comply with the SOP, including wearing face masks,” he added.
Miri Hospital director Dr Jack Wong was also present at the press conference.