Health DG: MoH hospitals instructed to make ready 10 to 15 beds in case of Covid-19 spillover

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Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah

KUCHING: Every hospital under the Ministry of Health (MoH) has been instructed to make ready 10 to 15 beds in case of Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) spillover, said Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Twenty per cent of the 3,400 beds designated for Covid-19 have been used thus far, he said in a statement that laid out pertinent facts on the Covid-19 situation in the country today.

“Out of 300 designated ICU (intensive care unit) beds, we have used 18 per cent, to date.

“At the moment, we are doing 5,000 tests daily in 23 facilities throughout the country,” he said, adding that the MoH’s plan is to increase the number of tests to 10,000 a day.

According to Dr Noor Hisham, more laboratories are being recruited and staff trained to help the country contain the spread of Covid-19.

In the last two weeks, he said 26 hospitals under the MoH had ceased elected surgeries to make way for ICU beds.

Thanks to such a move, 200 ICU beds are ready and available for Covid-19 patients.

He said elective surgeries had been moved to other hospitals, for instance, heart surgeries were taken over by UiTM Hospital.

“Non-critical patients in the 26 MoH hospitals have been transferred to the care of district, university and even private hospitals.

“Engineering Department of MoH has opened up new wards and ward extension in the 26 hospitals especially in Sungai Buloh Hospital, the main Covid-19 hospital in the country,” he explained.

Dr Noor Hisham said University Malaya Medical Centre had been designated as Covid-19 hospital, making it the 27th hospital in the country designated for Covid-19 patients.

“Anaesthetists from the private sector has been contacted via Academy of Medicine to stand by in case their services are needed to man the ICU and ventilators,” he added.