KOTA KINABALU: Patients will be treated accordingly and evaluations made based on protocols at times of crises, said Sabah Health director Dr Rose Nani Mudin.
Previous reports quoted doctors as saying there was a standing order to prioritise younger patients due to limited resources.
She added all patients will be given oxygen and ventilators regardless of their age, but during a crisis, patients with higher recovery rates will be given priority.
"Based on the ICU management protocol, there are conditions where patients such as those with chronic illnesses, deteriorating health or irreversible diseases will experience lung function failure and will not get any benefit even with the help of a ventilator.
"In this kind of situation, doctors will discuss with patients and family members on treatment limitations and the support as well as palliative treatment," she said in a statement.
Dr Rose added that ventilator usage rate is between 70 and 80 per cent out of 170 units throughout the state. A total 156 of the ventilators were newly procured within a year.
As for oxygen tanks, Sabah hospitals have around 2,350 with an average daily usage of between 1,050 and 1,150.
"The Health department has also been getting additional supply to increase oxygen and ventilator capacity in preparation (for further increase of Covid-19 cases).
"As for bed capacity, among the measures taken were repurposing beds and existing wards, as well as getting medical equipment required for critical care."
Since the pandemic began last year, the Queen Elizabeth hospital has been outsourcing non-Covid-19 patients to three private hospitals.
She added the army is now setting up a field hospital in Tawau to fulfil the medical needs in the district.
As for testing facility, there are three hospital laboratories with a capacity of processing 1,188 samples per day; public health laboratory (1,000); health clinic laboratory (400); Universiti Malaysia Sabah (200); and two private laboratories (2,100).
To achieve 60 per cent of the complete vaccination rate in Sabah, Dr Rose Nani said outreach programmes would be intensified.
This included collaboration with non-governmental organisations, vaccination at Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) areas, detention camps and flying doctor services.
"Hospitals will also focus on opportunistic vaccination whereby patients who come for appointments or pending discharge will be inoculated.
"Vaccination centres will also allow the community to get vaccines via walk-in," she said, adding there are 214 vaccination centres.
Dr Rose Nani had said that the single-dose Cansino vaccine would be given to hard to reach areas to save time and overcome the shortage of medical personnel.
To date, Sabah has received 26,000 of the single-dose CanSino vaccine from out of 180,000 ordered for the state.