THE Health Ministry will get a boost of almost 3,000 medical staff this Wednesday as the country’s battle to contain the spread of Covid-19 goes into its third week.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this was on top of the 1,500 staff taken in on March 16.

“The first intake was done on March 16, where we took in 1,500 healthcare personnel,” Dr Noor Hisham said during his daily media update on the Covid-19 situation in the country.

“We have 2,000 nurses and 660 medical assistants for whom we will conduct an intake this Wednesday.”

He also called on private-sector medical workers to volunteer in the country’s fight against Covid-19.

He said there are 1,800 such workers who are waiting for placement.

“We want to know their area of expertise for example doctors in which medical discipline…nurses in terms of their training. We also want to see where they are located,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham previously said that the ministry is open to rehiring retirees to fight the pandemic.

Malaysia has enforced a movement control order since March 18 to curb the spread of Covid-19. It was supposed to end on March 31, but it has been extended for another two weeks to April 14 in light of increasing Covid-19 infections.

To date, Malaysia has recorded 2,470 infections with 34 deaths. – March 29, 2020.