THERE is no reason to lockdown Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) just because a number of healthcare workers there contracted the Covid-19 virus, Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah said.

He was responding to a question by a “Concerned Citizen” in a letter posted on social media calling for the hospital to be placed under lockdown due to the high number of infections there.

Uggah said just because 52 healthcare workers from the Kuching hospital tested positive for the virus, “you cannot conclude they got infected at their workplace”.

“The majority did not get infected while treating (infected) patients.”

Uggah said many of them contracted the virus from “one of the clusters”.

Uggah, who is also state Disaster Management Committee chairman, said this prior to a working visit to witness the active detection exercise at Taman Unigarden in Samarahan today.

He also said many of the healthcare workers were infected from the church conference cluster.

Uggah also said there was no shortage of personal protection equipment (PPEs) at SGH and that “they have very experienced doctors dealing with infectious diseases”.

He added the hospital’s standard operating procedure (SOP) in handling Covid-19 patients was also “very clear”.

“No reason to lockdown,” he said.

Under the SOP, healthcare workers have to take frequent tests at a drive-thru test centre specifically catered to them at Petra Jaya clinic. If they test positive, they can either be treated at the hospital or the multipurpose youth centre near the hospital.

The letter, in calling for a lockdown, said doctors and nurses at the hospital “were exposed to the first victim who died in SGH from Covid-19 at the end of March” because they did not don PPEs when they treated him upon admission.

The letter added that when the positive result of the test swab came back at 6am the next day, “the anaesthetic team had already gone for rounds to other wards and (the) ICU to carry on their work”.

“There was a lockdown of the ward, and all personnel involved were triaged. The close contacts were swabbed on Day 1 and 13, and all put under quarantine.”

It said while all swabs came back negative on Day One, results showed they were positive in the Day 13 tests, adding the team was allowed work as they awaited the test results.

“The results came back and one quarter of those tested were positive – at least two were doctors,” the letter read.

“They had already resumed their daily rounds, and had meals in the pantry with their colleagues with no masks on.

“That was when havoc started. They had already exposed the anaesthetic and medical department staff.

“No doubt this pandemic has put us in an unprecedented situation, but certain logic has to be in place.”

The letter also said there was a discrepancy in testing by the medical division of the Health Department, which is in charge of the hospitals and health division, which is in charge of district health clinics.

“There was no talk of any lockdown or partial lockdown of the hospital.

“In any other location, if there are more than 40 cases, enhanced movement control order is required, with barbed wires and army personnel controlling the movement within the area.

“But with 50 cases and rising here, none of the above is carried out.” – April 29, 2020.