By Geryl Ogilvy
KUCHING, April 2: A 61-year-old Sarawakian is among the five Covid-19 fatalities registered in the country as of today, which raised the national Covid-19 death toll to 50.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Sarawakian, who is the 49th fatality, has close contact history with Covid-19 patient case 2,107. He was admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) here on March 20 and passed away yesterday, at 8.56pm.
The 46th case involved a 37-year-old man with chronic diseases and poor immune system. The victim was treated at Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor since March 28 and passed away on March 31, at 11.10pm.
The 47th case was man aged 27, with high blood pressure and gout. The victim was treated at Sultanah Fatimah Hospital since March 19 and passed away on March 29, at 9.10pm.
Dr Noor Hisham said the 48th case is a 85-year-old man with a history of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problem. He was admitted to Enche’ Besar Hajjah Khalsom Hospital, Johor, on March 29 and passed away at 8.01am today.
The 50th case involved a 69-year-old man, who was treated at Hospital Tuanku Jaafar, Negeri Sembilan, since March 22 and passed away at 2.20pm today.
“As of 12pm (April 2), the country recorded 208 new Covid-19 positive cases, bringing the total cumulative cases to 3,116.
“According to the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC), the 50 deaths in the country constitute 1.6 per cent of the total positive cases to date,” he said at the daily Covid-19 press conference at Putrajaya today.
Dr Noor Hisham added that at present, 105 patients were being treated in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), with 54 cases needing breathing support (ventilators).
On a positive note, he said 122 patients have been cured of Covid-19 and discharged today. This brings the total cumulative recoveries fro Covid-19 to 767, or 24.6 per cent.
Touching on the movement control order (MCO), which has been extended to April 14, Dr Noor Hisham said this was to continue active case tracing, especially in hotspot areas.
“We want to identify them early, trace and contact them to come in for treatment. These two weeks (April 1-14) will be crucial. All of us have to come together and play our role by staying at home.
“Make sure we wash our hands, practise social distancing and discipline among ourselves to flatten the (Covid-19) curve, expected at the end of the first or second week of April,” he continued.
Dr Noor Hisham expected the second phase of the Covid-19 wave to end on April 10, although it is still too early to make any conclusion.
“The most important is these next two weeks to flatten the curve. The reason for us to flatten the curve is not in expectation of zero Covid-19 infections in the country but to allow our hospitals to curb the spike in cases.
“For example, today, the patients in our ICUs are increasing. So we need to ensure the capacity of our hospitals to function well and provide good services to our patients,” he continued. — DayakDaily
