By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Feb 26: The number of Covid-19 cases are projected to rise sharply again in the next couple of weeks in Sarawak, warned Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
While he did not reveal the projected figure, Dr Sim however said that the uptick is expected while acknowledging the fact that undetected and unreported cases could lead to undercounting of the total number of people who have been infected.
“In fact, local experts noted that there could be underreported positive cases as self-testing, self-isolation and self-monitoring have become a norm to all of us Sarawakians.
“This is what we called living with the virus eventually. So I must emphasise that we must be very careful because although the Omicron variant appears to cause milder symptoms, but it will still take over your health if you are elderly and in the high risk group.
“For example, if an elderly person’s lung is functioning at 30 per cent and Omicron takes away 15 per cent of your kidney or lung functions, you are only left with 15 per cent.
“If you are young with 80 per cent lung function and if 15 per cent is taken away, you are still in a good condition to function. This is common sense,” he said.
While the Sarawak government’s measures and stance may seem harsh, Dr Sim stressed that it is to protect the lives of Sarawakians.
“We do not want you to be part of the statistics like what happened last year. If you die, that’s goodbye forever. We don’t want that,” he told reporters after launching a recycling centre in Taman Desa Wira, Batu Kawa here today.
With Sarawakians in mind, Dr Sim said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has instructed the relevant authorities to procure any Covid-19 drugs regardless of its high price for the benefit of the people.
“Now, we are negotiating with Pfizer-BioNTech for the new oral antiviral pills (for Covid-19 treatment especially emergency cases with severe symptoms).
“Previously, we were the only State in the country that has procured the Roche(-Regeneron) drug (mainly used to treat patients with mild to moderate symptoms) first. It costs RM5,000 per usage and is only available in public hospitals in Sarawak,” he added.
Despite all measures being taken, Dr Sim reiterated his advice that people must stay vigilant and do their best to protect themselves from getting infected with Covid-19. — DayakDaily
