KUCHING, June 8: In a span of slightly over a week, six Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centres (PKRCs) have been set up with an additional three over the last weekend to contain the surge and spread of Covid-19 in Kuching and Samarahan.
Minister for Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian pointed out that authorities have also started negotiations to convert some hotels from quarantine centres to PKRCs, given the surge in Covid-19 cases in the two districts in the last 14 days.
The additional three PKRCs set up last weekend are located at College of Allied Health Sciences, Training Institute of Malaysia Health Ministry and Taiyo Yuden’s Sakura Dormitory.
“These new PKRCs (centre for low risk Category 3 Covid-19 patients with 24 hours nurses and paramedics) are in addition to the other three PKRCs (set up) last week.
“We must plan for the worst while praying with actions for the best,” he said in a Facebook post last night.
The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Hall in Petra Jaya, Youth and Sports Complex hall and University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas)’s Rafflesia College were the other three sites which have been turned into PKRCs.
Dr Sim, who is also State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) advisor, revealed that presently, positive cases with no symptoms under Category 1 and mild symptoms under Category 2 will serve home quarantine if their home environment is suitable.
“The Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) medical team will make daily phone calls to monitor these patients.
“On top of that, the special enforcement team will also check on the cases of about 200 per day twice daily,” he added.
Even though the CAC, PKRC and Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) have been optimised and stretched to absorb the spike of Covid-19 patients in Kuching and Samarahan, Dr Sim cautioned that there will be a limit on how far they can be expanded.
“(It is not so much of the physical facility) but more of the manpower resources (as there is a limit of how much we can stretch and there is a breaking point and burnout).
“No words can be enough to thank our medical frontliners and non-medical frontliners who have endured more than one year of the pandemic, suffering in silence daily, (but) continuing their professionalism to save lives of our fellow Sarawakians,” he said.
Dr Sim reminded again that the least people can do is to play their part seriously in these critical two to four weeks. — DayakDaily
