KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has increased bed capacity in hospitals and Covid-19 Quarantine and Low-risk Treatment Centres (PKRC) following the pandemic's third wave.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said the number of beds to treat Covid-19 patients had been increased to 11,076 compared to 6,795 on Oct 6.
"This includes 3,505 beds at 43 Covid-19 hospitals and 7,571 beds at PKRC nationwide. This is an increase compared to 2,820 beds at hospitals and 3,975 beds at PKRC around the country on Oct 6.
"In Sabah alone, the number of beds to treat Covid-19 cases at the hospitals has increased by 53 per cent to 5,276 hospital beds, compared to the number of beds on Oct 5.
"Also, 16 PKRC in the state is now ready to commence operation.
"At the moment, the bed usage capacity has reached 45 per cent for hospitals and 37 per cent at PKRC (nationwide)," he said in a statement today.
Adham said the ministry had mobilised reinforcements to support healthcare frontliners at hospitals, health clinics, district health offices other than deploying more health personnel in Sabah to contain the outbreak there.
"The ministry is also working closely with the Defence Ministry to set-up the field hospitals (to treat non-Covid-19 patients in Tawau, Sabah) which has the capacity of 100 beds apart from transporting Covid-19 samples from Sabah to the peninsula, as well as transporting 75,000 new rapid test kit antigen (RTK-Ag) to the state," he said.
To ensure a more pragmatic analyses and strategic planning, Dr Adham said the ministry did not depend only on the projection of the Covid-19 infectivity rate or R-naught (R0).
"Experts at the ministry from various levels are monitoring all relevant aspects including in the infectivity rate, mortality rate, bed usage capacity, characteristics of Covid-19 clusters as well as spatial correlation values.
"Health and safety of the people are the government's top priority and the ministry will continue to enhance integrated efforts with various parties to contain the outbreak," he said.