SGH will not be placed under lockdown: Uggah

Uggah speaking to reporters during his visit to the Taman Desa Ilmu roadblock and screening centre at Masjid Taman Desa Ilmu.

KOTA SAMARAHAN, Apr 29: The Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) will not be under lockdown even though 52 healthcare workers have tested positive for Covid-19, said Sarawak disaster management committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

Replying to a reporter’s question during his visit to the Taman Desa Ilmu roadblock and screening centre at Masjid Taman Ilmu, Uggah said he didn’t know who viralled or circulated the letter in social media.

A letter was anonymously sent by a person to SDMC, claiming that measures must be taken to stop the virus after healthcare workers were infected by a patient at SGH.

“To-date we have 52 positive cases among the healthcare workers. Majority of them did not contract Covid-19 while on duty treating patients. Most of them got infected from some other clusters.

“You cannot say that just because they are healthcare workers, you conclude that everyone in the hospital will be infected. So there are no reasons to lockdown SGH,” Uggah said.

He added that currently, SGH had sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), experienced doctors dealing with infectious diseases and the standard operating procedure (SOP) was very clear. —DayakDaily