By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, April 13: The Kuching Division Health Office is well prepared for the Covid-19 outbreak, says Dr Majorie Ensayan, the coordinator of the Covid-19 screening centre at the Youth and Sports Complex here.
She revealed that even before there any positive case was reported in Kuching, the Kuching Division Health Office had activated its operation room to monitor the situation in Kuching.
“So we had PUI (persons under investigation). They (Kuching Division health officers) started off with (surveillance at) airports, any entrance points before we actually had a case.
“The moment we had positive (cases), we activated the rapid assessment team, but we started the surveillance before we even had any positive case. We are quite prepared in terms of that,” Dr Majorie told DayakDaily when met today.
The entry of Covid-19 into Sarawak has not been a shock to her as she saw it as part and parcel of life.
“You have to accept this kind of challenge, and we are trained to be ever ready in whatever situation and I think in terms of directions from our bosses in KKM (Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia or the Health Ministry), they are very clear.
“In fact, before the outbreak came to our country, we have done our preparedness plan very, very early on, so when it came, it wasn’t really a shock,” said Dr Majorie, 35, who specialises in public health.
She said when the outbreak started, there was a suggestion for public screening, which was followed by consensus that there should be a centralised location for it to be done to ensure easy coordination.
“So whatever data we have here, whatever we screen here, we direct to them (Kuching Division Health Office).
“They investigate and if it (the case) happens to be positive from the list we have here, they will direct (the patient) to SGH ID (infectious disease unit).”
The screening centre has since its first day of operation, worked together closely with the Kuching Division Health Office as well as Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), each playing their respective parts to help contain the contagious disease.
While the centre at the Youth and Sports Complex is responsible for screening members of the public for Covid-19, the Kuching Division Health Office is tasked with tracing and SGH, the treatment of patients. — DayakDaily
