THE country is still capable of handling its Covid-19 cases despite daily new infections recording more than 1,000 cases daily, said Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said hospitals are currently at 59% of their bed capacity.

The assurance comes after the health ministry said it was having trouble transporting Covid-19 patients from their homes to the quarantine centres today. 

He said one of the causes for delay is usually in cases of Covid-19-positive individuals. Unlike clusters at workplaces where migrant workers are concerned, where they can be easily transported on a bus, individual cases require a personal van which would take up more time when more individual cases arise. 

Increased testing among foreign workers which has resulted in more cases being detected has also contributed to the delay, he said. 

Moreover, Noor Hisham said the health ministry is considering letting people diagnosed with Covid-19 quarantine at home instead.

“Our procedure in quarantining positive individuals at Covid-19 Quarantine and Low-risk Treatment Centres (PKRC) or hospitals remains the same. However, we are considering if it is possible to quarantine them at home,” he said.

He added that health authorities would take into account one’s living conditions before deciding whether they can be quarantined at home while being Covid-19 positive. 

Earlier today, the health ministry added 3,032 beds to make it 6,132 in Phase Two of its quarantine centre set up at the Malaysian Agro Exposition Park in Serdang (MAEPS).

Deputy Director-General of Health Dr Rohaizat Yon said the additional beds at the repurposed facility was to accommodate the spike in Covid-19 cases.

PKRC MAEPS 2.0 was reopened on December 9 to house non-Malaysian patients.

He said bed capacity may be increased to 10,000 according to current needs. – December 28, 2020.