THE Health Ministry is conducting a pilot run for the use of digital tracking wristbands on persons under quarantine, deputy director-general of health (public health) Dr Chong Chee Keong said.

He said the test involves 1,000 digital trackers fitted on overseas returnees who have received approval to undergo home quarantine.

He said the initiative is outsourced to a company, which also does the monitoring. However, the ministry and police will oversee the enforcement aspect.

The ministry will be procuring 30,000 units of the digital tracker, Chong told a press conference today with other top health officials.

The trackers will be used to monitor overseas returnees, Covid-19 patients in categories one and two who are under home quarantine and symptomatic individuals awaiting test results.

“Through this monitoring system, individuals can be monitored effectively. At the same time, their health information can be retrieved and recorded digitally,” Chong said.

The Greater Klang Valley Special Task Force chief also said about 80,000 active cases in the Greater Klang Valley are under quarantine. 

They are monitored via the virtual Covid-19 assessment centre, and health authorities are also in contact with them.

Half of them are in category one (asymptomatic), 30% are in category two (mildly symptomatic) and 20% are showing “warning signs”, Chong said.

In terms of manpower, 1,000 healthcare workers have been mobilised from various government agencies as well as volunteers to help at the call centre and with contact tracing.

On the trajectory of infections, Chong said the Klang Valley saw 8,000-12,000 cases a day last week.

He said 1-2% of the cases require treatment at hospitals or at low-risk quarantine centres. 

“This is worrying because we need 200-300 additional beds every day,” he said.

The number of beds has been increased from 6,000 to 8,000, and the ministry will continue to add beds, he said. – August 13, 2021.