KUCHING, April 29: The outlook of the Covid-19 pandemic across Sarawak may have improved, but the Sarawak Health Department will remain cautious as cases may rise again following the further ease of restrictions and the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
Director Dr Ooi Choo Huck said that during the transition to endemic phase starting April 1, Sarawak has continued to see a downward trend in new daily Covid-19 cases, deaths, and admissions to hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs).
Between April 1 and 28, Sarawak recorded 6,839 new cases and 41 deaths compared to 38,529 new cases and 61 deaths in March this year.
“The usage of non-ICU bed rate was at 26 per cent and ICU bed use rate at 10 per cent in Epid Week 16 (April 17-23), compared to 40 per cent and 36 per cent respectively in Epid Week 13 (March 27 to April 2).
“These statistics show a declining trend for new cases and deaths with improving hospital capacity. This indirectly indicates that the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak is improving,” he said in a statement today.
Dr Ooi added that the effectiveness of public health prevention and control measures, including Covid-19 vaccination programmes and managing the spread of new infections have contributed to the positive outcomes.
As of April 26, 2022, Sarawak’s vaccination coverage for the eligible population has reached 80.6 per cent.
The percentage of second dose coverage for adults aged 18 and above was 91 per cent and for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years was 93.1 per cent, while the first dose coverage for children aged 5 to 11 years was 79.7 per cent.
“As such, for those who are eligible but have not received the vaccine, please go to the nearest health clinic to get a shot immediately.
“As a reminder, the deadline for the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine inoculation under the National Children Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICKids) is May 15, 2022,” he said.
Dr Ooi also commended high public awareness on the importance of complying with standard operating procedures (SOPs) that had enabled Sarawak to bring the pandemic under control.
“Therefore, the Sarawak Health Department calls on the public not to be complacent and continue to adopt preventive measures as recommended by the Ministry of Health (MOH),” he urged.
The Sarawak Health Department, Dr Ooi emphasised, is always ready to face any possible increase in cases by increasing vaccination coverage for all target groups and second booster dose for high-risk individuals.
“We are also ensuring the supply of Covid-19 antiviral drugs is readily available in hospitals and clinics, an adequate number of ICU beds are being set up, and high testing capacity in government and private laboratories.
“The department will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation in and outside the country and is committed to improving the preparedness of health services to face any possibility of a surge in cases,” he said.
Despite that, Dr Ooi reminded that wearing face masks is still mandatory indoors including when using public transport and e-hailing rides, in crowded places and doing activities with people at risk.
The public should also maintain good hand hygiene to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other diseases, especially hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). — DayakDaily
