THE blood bank is in need of donors as demand has gone up with the recommencement of elective surgery, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

“The drop in the blood bank has reached a worrying level as usage per week rises to 13,076 bags compared to 9,000 bags previously,” said the director-general of health today at a daily Covid-19 briefing in Putrajaya.

“There has also been a 5-10% rise in accidents that need hospital treatment since the easing of restrictions under the conditional movement control order (CMCO).”

During the MCO period in May, blood stock in National Blood Bank was reduced to 67,135 bags – 40% less than the 111,328 bags available in May 2018.

He said the reduction was acceptable during the MCO period as road accidents and elective surgery had also dropped in tandem.

But more blood is now needed as usage increases, he said.

Meanwhile, 31 new coronavirus cases were reported today, 10 of which were Malaysians returning from abroad.

Sixty patients were discharged from hospital, taking the total number of active cases to 1,189 .

The number of deaths stands at 114. – May 20, 2020.