By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, May 2: The people of Sarawak should take preventive steps to avoid coming down with heat-related illnesses in light of the current hot weather that will continue until August this year.
Deputy Premier of Sarawak Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said such hot weather could even lead to heat stroke which can cause permanent disability or death.
The symptoms, he said, include confusion, disorientation, slurred speech, dry skin and fever.
“How can we look after ourselves? (We can) stay in places that are under the shade or places that have air-conditioners such as shopping centres, having enough hydration, wearing light clothing and having showers to cool yourself down,” he said in a video posted on his social media today.
Dr Sim who is Sarawak Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government further said that such hot weather would often lead to haze.
Following this, he reminded the people of Sarawak to wear N95-type face masks as it can filter out particles in the air.
“It must be N95 (mask) because the particles are small enough that ordinary face masks will not be able to stop them from entering our lungs,” he added.
To date, there have been at least three deaths tied to heat-related illness involving an 11-year-old boy in Kelantan who died of heat stroke and severe dehydration on April 25, a 19-month-old girl in Kelantan who died of severe dehydration with underlying sepsis on April 25, and a 12-year-old boy in Kluang who passed away yesterday (May 1) due to suspected heat stroke.
According to The Star’s report on April 28, Health director-general Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said there are three cases in Sarawak involving two cases of heat cramps and one case of heat exhaustion. — DayakDaily
