PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is hiring retired medical staff and specialists to ensure adequate manpower at Covid-19 designated hospitals.
Its director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said with their employment, more resources could be deployed to hospitals such as the Sungai Buloh Hospital which required more staff to handle the cases.
“We are also working with private hospitals on this. NGOs (non-governmental organisations) have also come forward and their members are willing to contribute.
“Malaysian Society of Anaesthesiologists, for instance, has members who we may need," he told a Press conference today.
He said the ministry was also looking into appointing more laboratories for Covid-19 tests, in addition to the 18 public and five private ones currently.
“We are looking at other labs including those under universities and Armed Forces.
“Currently, some 3,500 tests are carried out daily and we expect the number to increase to 7,000 cases daily and 16,000 daily in April.”
Meanwhile, he said the 409 quarantine zones nationwide would house Covid-19 patients in stage 1 and 2 of the infections, who showed mild symptoms.
He said those in stage 3, 4 and 5 of the infection, who required ventilator support would be treated in hospitals.