By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, Sept 8: In the post-vaccination era, there is no need to be “overly alarmed” with the high number of Covid-19 cases to asses the pandemic in Sarawak.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) advisor Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian in a social media post said there were different figures to look at due to the different stages of a disease.
He pointed out that the interpretation of the State Covid-19 statistics should now focus on the number of deaths and hospitalisation rate rather than the number of infections.
At the same time, Dr Sim, who is Minister for Local Government and Housing, outlined the cases in Sarawak and the number of deaths as compared to the other states in Malaysia.
“Malacca – 448 cases, 10 deaths; Kuala Lumpur – 631 cases, 10 deaths; Perak – 1,197 cases, 20 deaths; Kelantan – 1,458 cases, 14 deaths; Kedah – 1,487 cases, 43 deaths; Penang – 1,776 cases, 34 deaths; Sabah 2,107 cases, 45 deaths; Johor – 2,174 cases, 53 deaths; Selangor – 2,407 cases 55 deaths and Sarawak – 3,200 cases, 7 deaths.
“In post-vaccination era, 99 per cent will be in Category 1 and 2 with 99 per cent recovery and even though we are living with the virus, we still view it seriously.
“We do need to stay alert but need not be gripped by panic every day upon seeing the daily case numbers,” he said.
Having said that, Dr Sim also reminded the public to continue to play their roles and do their part to slow the local transmission of the virus so that the number of positive cases identified would not drain Sarawak’s healthcare resources, especially the availability of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds.
He added that the health equipment in Sarawak was recently upgraded through an allocation of RM43 million from the Health Ministry and RM15 million from the Sarawak government but the State has limited medical manpower and needs to take the risk of exhaustion and burnt out of medical staff into consideration.
As of 12 midnight yesterday, he said the Pejabat Kesihatan Bahagian Kuching (PKBK) reported 962 Covid-19 cases in Kuching.
The distribution of Covid-19 cases in Kuching were divided into various locations.
The locations with double digits cases include Kenneth Care Home with 14 cases, Kampung Rampangi (13), Kpg Siol Kandis (13), Kampung Tabuan Lot (13), Kampung Gita Baru (12), Kampung Semerah Padi (12), Taman Malihah (11), Taman Sri Harmoni (11), Kampung Tabuan Hilir (11) and Taman Desa Wira (10).
The locations with single digits cases were Kpg Astana Lot with nine cases, Jalan Cenderawasih (9), RPR Batu Kawa (9), Kampung Goebilt (9), Lorong Cahaya Damai (8), Kampung Semeriang Jaya (8), Taman Sukma (8), Kampung Tabuan Tengah (7), Kampung Telaga Air (7), Taman Indah Landeh (7), Taman Sepakat Jaya (7), Kampung Guam (6), Kampung Bintawa Hilir (6), Taman Lovelyland (6), RPR Landeh (6), Kampung Sinar Budi Baru (6), Kampung Sourabaya Ulu (6), Kampung Panglima Seman Lama (6) and Bandar Baru Semariang (6). — DayakDaily
