Rise in positive Covid-19 cases among frontliners, especially healthcare staff in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian health ministry has expressed concern over the rise of positive Covid-19 cases among frontliners, especially healthcare staff in the public and private sectors.

The country’s health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah described the situation as worrying as they played an important role as the backbone of the nation's healthcare system.

He said investigations found that the positive cases of the ministry's staff were largely due to infection among themselves.

"The infections among them contribute as much as 53 per cent to the total of number of cases involving healthcare personnel. This means that more than half of them, who contracted Covid-19, have in turn infected their other colleagues.

"The infections from the community was 22 per cent while those who were infected while handling patients whose Covid-19 test results had yet to be known stood at 17 per cent.

"So far, there is no ministry health personnel who has caught the virus while managing patients who are confirmed positive at the Covid-19 wards or at the Intensive Care Unit," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham reminded healthcare staff to always take pro-active measures to avert the Covid-19 infection at all times, especially when they were on duty by practising physical distancing and when dealing with patients.

He said cleanliness must also be a priority at common places such as nurses' counter, dining areas, pantries, prayer space and staff toilets.

He stressed that all ministry's healthcare personnel in hospitals and health clinics; medical practitioners, private healthcare workers and those in universities must put on the 3-ply surgical mask throughout their working hours and practice hand hygiene, cough etiquette and wear their personal protective equipment.

"The ministry calls on all healthcare personnel in the public or private sector to adopt the new normal where they should isolate themselves and wear face masks if they have symptoms as well as observe hand hygiene when receiving guests.

"They should stay at home and refrain from going to public places if they display symptoms and get immediate treatment," he said. NEW STRAITS TIMES