Health DG: Sabah healthcare system 'tested' but functioning well

COVID-19 | Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today that the Sabah healthcare system is functioning well although tested with record-high numbers of positive Covid-19 cases.

Sabah today recorded three new clusters and 488 new Covid-19 infections, raising the number of active cases in the state to 2,783 out of a total of 4,822 cases nationwide.

"The public health care system in Sabah continues to function well, although tested with this pandemic," said Noor Hisham during his virtual press conference today.

Aside from dedicating an additional Covid-19 hospital in Kota Marudu and increasing the total bed capacity, he said the government has also entered into partnerships with private healthcare providers in Sabah.

"Through a public-private partnership, KKM will carry out outsourcing of services to private hospitals in Sabah.

"This will be done for non-Covid-19 cases," he said.

"We use our seven (government) hospitals for Covid-19 cases and the non-Covid-19 cases we will refer to private hospitals through this outsourcing method," he said.

In April, Noor Hisham had announced a similar move with the government negotiating a lower rate at private hospitals for patients referred from government facilities.

As of today, Noor Hisham said the take-up rate for the 946 beds in the seven Sabah government hospitals is at 66 percent, while the 3,876 remaining beds at quarantine centres are filled up to 22 percent.

On a scale of one to five, Noor Hisham said those in category three and above will be sent to the hospital, while the remaining who were asymptomatic or show minor symptoms will be treated at quarantine centres.

As for testing capacities, he said there are currently three laboratories in Sabah with a testing capacity of 2,500 RT-PCR samples a day.

"More samples are also sent for processing at laboratories in the peninsula, through daily flights operated by the armed forces," he said.

In terms of manpower, Noor Hisham said 483 Health Ministry staff from within Sabah as well as other states have been mobilised to provide additional assistance where needed.

He said their function includes being frontliners in hospitals, as well as in Health Ministry laboratories, state health department offices. 

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