Health DG: Transport delays keeping asymptomatic cases at home

COVID-19 | Transportation delays are the reason behind the Health Ministry’s decision to request some asymptomatic Covid-19 patients to undergo home quarantine until they are picked up to be sent to the hospital.

The delay is primarily experienced in the Klang Valley, explained Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah this evening.

He clarified that beds were still available at the two Covid-19 hospitals in the area - Sungai Buloh Hospital and Kuala Lumpur Hospital. Neither are the four quarantine centres in the Klang Valley at maximum capacity yet.

Below is the breakdown of bed utilisation at the six facilities:

Kapasiti katil kes COVID-19 di Wilayah Tengah
Data setakat 28 Disember 2020 @ 6.00 pagi

(Hospital Rehabilitasi Cheras akan digunakan jika perlu untuk pesakit warganegara sahaja) pic.twitter.com/r68tvJvFq6

— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) December 28, 2020

 

“As of now, the total capacity (of beds filled) at hospitals in Selangor is 58 percent. So we still have the ability to admit patients, but there is a delay in transferring them from their home to the hospital,” Noor Hisham said.

Pressed about the reason behind the transportation delay, he said it was due to a spike in cases in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, coupled with the time needed to organise the necessary logistics.

“When there is a rise in cases, perhaps (there are problems) in the area of logistics in sending patients from their homes to the hospital.”

Below is the ministry’s guideline for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients who need to undergo home quarantine while waiting to be transported to the hospital:

• Remain at home and isolate yourself from your family members and housemates

• Wear a mask at home

• Stay in touch with the district Health Department and follow all instructions given

Patients are at the highest risk of infecting others between three days before developing symptoms and seven days after developing symptoms.

Ministry mulling home quarantine policy

The top official stressed several times during today’s press conference that the ministry’s policy to hospitalise all Covid-19 patients regardless of category and severity remained unchanged.

However, he shared that they were considering the possibility of keeping patients with no symptoms or mild symptoms at home provided certain criteria could be met.

“We are considering whether we can quarantine positive patients at home. If we do that there are several criteria that we need to follow - we need to assess whether their homes, rooms, bathrooms and the like are suitable.

“And we need to look at our health assessment tools (and whether) our healthcare officers are able to monitor the health of someone being quarantined at home,” he said.

Another consideration was whether the ministry could place patients with mild cases of Covid-19 at workers’ hostels if the facilities prove suitable.

“One possibility is to use such facilities to reduce congestion at Maeps. But the employer must have suitable staff accommodation,” Noor Hisham added.