'Don't steal masks, sanitisers and gloves from frontliners, please'
CORONAVIRUS | The Health Ministry today urged members of the public not to deny its frontliners of personal protective equipment (PPE) by stealing them from hospitals.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the items such as face masks, hand sanitisers and gloves are provided at hospitals for the use of healthcare workers who have to face the risk of Covid-19 while on duty...
CORONAVIRUS | The Health Ministry today urged members of the public not to deny its frontliners of personal protective equipment (PPE) by stealing them from hospitals.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the items such as face masks, hand sanitisers and gloves are provided at hospitals for the use of healthcare workers who have to face the risk of Covid-19 while on duty.
"If there are people who take these items away for their personal use, the person should remember that not only he or she needs it. They should think of other people as well.
"Do not take our sanitisers, gloves or masks, these are important for the usage of our frontliners. They are the priority," he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.
Hisham was commenting on recent viral incidents on social media, where several people were caught trying to sell online PPEs taken from government hospitals.
The country was hit by a shortage of face masks and hand sanitisers since the past two months due to panic buying and hoarding of the products because of Covid-19, causing the items to be scarce in the market.
Some irresponsible quarters have tried to take advantage of the situation by raising the price of the items, while theft cases of face masks and sanitisers have also been reported at Health Ministry facilities.
Noor Hisham had also previously said that it is of higher priority to ensure the adequate supply of PPE for the frontliners, and members of the public need not wear face masks unless they have symptoms of Covid-19.
Asked on the progress of the Health Ministry's experiment to use blood plasma from Covid-19 patients who have recovered from the virus, Noor Hisham said so far they have yet to get enough quantity to provide thick antibodies to patients.
"But what we can do is to repeat the process. Like if we give the plasma (to a patient under treatment) today, we will give it again in two weeks," he said.
Meanwhile, on another matter, Noor Hisham said a group of Rohingya refugees who landed at Langkawi beach yesterday have been put under isolation.
He said the refugees are going to be tested for Covid-19 to ensure their health status.
He was commenting on some 200 Rohingya refugees who arrived in a boat before they were arrested by police in Langkawi on Sunday morning.
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