Dr Annuar shows information on the 37-year-old Covid-19 fatality from Sibu during the Facebook live session.
SIBU (April 29): Covid-19 deaths involving younger people in Sarawak of late indicate that the group is also at risk of getting extremely sick or dying from the virus.
Sibu Division Disaster Management Committee (SDDMC) coordinator Dr Annuar Rapaee cautioned younger people should not ignore Covid-19-like symptoms but instead get tested immediately.
He said this when commenting on the Brought In Dead (BID) cases in Sibu and Bintulu involving two men in their 30s yesterday.
The first case, a 30-year-old, was found unconscious at home on April 11 and taken to Bintulu Hospital.
He suffered from hypertension and gout, and had a fever and cough a few days prior.
His rt-PCR test came back positive for Covid-19 on April 12.
The second case, a 37-year-old, was also found unconscious at home and taken to Sibu Hospital on April 24 and found to be Covid-19 positive.
He is said to have experienced chest discomfort and fatigue two days before he was found unconscious. He had no known comorbidities.
“The two cases showed that younger people and those without comorbidities are still at high risk of dying due to the virus. It is likely the case with no comorbidities suffered a heart attack due to thrombosis or blood clot.
“For cases like this, mostly the victim had symptoms two or three days prior but they ignored it and eventually they are found unconscious,” Dr Annuar explained during a Facebook live session last night.
He stressed that anyone showing symptoms must go to the hospital or clinic immediately for a swab test.
He pointed out the most common symptoms were fever, dry cough, and tiredness, while the less common symptoms included aches and pains, sore throat, diarrhoea, conjunctivitis, headache, loss of taste and smell, skin rashes, or discolouration of fingers or toes.
The most serious symptom is shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, he said.
Dr Annuar also explained the five levels of Covid-19 — Level 1 for asymptomatic patients, Level 2 for patients with mild symptoms, and Level 3 for patients suffering shortness of breath.
“At Level 4, the patient will require breathing apparatus and the most severe is at Level 5, where the patient will suffer multi-organ failure, which includes lungs and kidneys.
“So, please pay attention to early symptoms such as joint pain and fever. We are worried that by the time they come to hospital, not just is it too late but they might also have infected others,” he added.