The Ministry of Health (MOH) is considering allowing non-symptomatic and mild COVID-19 patients to isolate themselves and quarantine at home as the existing health facilities are increasingly limited, following the rise in daily COVID-19 cases.
Photo via Tatler Malaysia
According to BERNAMA, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the total number of active cases with COVID-19 infections is currently at 22,089, and is slowly approaching the maximum capacity of 23,000 for the COVID-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre (PKRC).
DG Hisham added that out of the total number of active COVID-19 cases, 89% to 90% of the patients who tested positive are not symptomatic and have mild symptoms.
"The PKRC is already full so we give full priority to cases that do not have a suitable place for quarantine, for example, for foreign workers they will be quarantined at the Malaysia Agricultural Expo Park Serdang (MAEPS).”
“The ministry is also looking at the criteria to see whether it is suitable to quarantine those who tested positive but are not symptomatic or with mild symptoms at home,” he said.
Photo via Prime Minister's Office Malaysia
Dr. Noor Hisham also admitted that there have been delays by the health authorities in picking up COVID-19 patients at their homes, due to the lack of synchronisation in patient information between private and public hospitals.
Clarifying on the allegation that patients from the Sungai Buloh Hospital were allowed to leave without going through a second COVID-19 screening, DG Hisham said that the 10-day mandatory quarantine is sufficient as the level of virus infection had decreased or disappeared during that period.
Photo via New Straits Times
He said: “Based on the data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), it states that if patients are quarantined for a period of 10 days, we can allow them to be discharged without conducting tests, and if tests are carried out it may be positive but the infection is reduced, or gone.”
“Positive results will occur for two to three weeks, or some can even reach up to 70 days but the most important thing is the infectivity rate, whether we can control the infection or not. So after 10 days, the risk is very low, so we can allow patients to return home without performing the test.”
So, guys, if you’re feeling ill or have COVID-19 symptoms, please stay at home and contact your doctors as soon as possible to get their advice!
Please take care of yourself, and remember to stay safe.
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
