HOTELS and madrasahs are among the 192 premises added as quarantine stations as Covid-19 infections and deaths rise in Malaysia.

In all, the Health Ministry has designated 657 sites nationwide as these stations.

According to gazettes posted on the Attorney-General’s Chambers website, government hospitals, universities, schools, madrasahs, hotels and mosques are among the premises that will house coronavirus patients should there be a spike in cases next month, as projected by JP Morgan and The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research.

The gazettes were issued in line with the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988. Section 2 provides for quarantine stations, which are to be used to detain, isolate and observe those with infectious diseases and suspected cases.

The first gazette, dated March 13, was published on March 16, two days before the movement-control order (MCO) to break the chain of infections came into force.

It lists 56 premises, mostly hospitals, including the main ones in each state.

The second, dated March 21, has 409 premises, among them varsities and an indoor stadium.

Listed is Institut Sosial Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur that is housing 132 students from the Madrasah Miftahun Ulum tahfiz school at Sri Petaling Mosque.

The mosque was the venue of a tabligh gathering late last month that has been traced as the source of more than half of the country’s Covid-19 cases.

The latest two gazettes, dated March 26 and 27, list another 192 places, taking the total to 657.

The third gazette identifies 40 premises, including mosques, public flats and hotels.

On this list is the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (Maeps), where two halls have been converted into a temporary hospital with a capacity of 600 beds.

Also listed is Madrasatul Quran Kubang Bujuk in Terengganu, which was visited by attendees of the Sri Petaling Mosque tabligh event who tested positive for the virus.

As many as 87 of the madrasah’s students are reportedly being quarantined as patients under investigation at Hulu Terengganu Hospital.

Istana Negara is among the 152 places declared as quarantine stations in the fourth gazette.

On Saturday, Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there are 5,292 beds in hospitals and the ministry’s training centre.

“We have sufficient beds, but we are always prepared for the worst.”

He said the Maeps facility will be used as a model should there be a need to convert more halls or indoor stadiums for the same purpose.

“For example, now, we are seeing about 150 to 200 cases a day. But if it surges to 1,000 cases daily, we will need more beds.

“We have about 5,000 beds in hospitals (and the ministry’s training centre), but if we need more, the beds (at Maeps) are ready.”

As of yesterday, Malaysia recorded 2,470 Covid-19 cases with 34 deaths.

The MCO, initially set for a two-week period, has been extended till April 14. – March 30, 2020.