Rise in COVID cases, health capacity utilisation rate in Klang Valley worrying - Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR: The increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and the utilisation rate of health capacity in the Klang Valley are worrying, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said if the upward trend of COVID-19 cases continued, the healthcare capacity would be at a critical level which will have negative impacts on the delivery of public health services as a whole.

“According to statistics obtained by the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre, the ICU bed usage rate for critical COVID-19 patients at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Ampang Hospital, Serdang Hospital and Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang, has now reached more than 70 per cent.

“Meanwhile, the use of critical/ICU beds at the Selayang Hospital and the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre is at a rate of more than 50 per cent. This is due to the increase in the number of critical case admissions by 62 per cent compared to the last two weeks,” he said in a media statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said as of today, a total of 108 ventilators are required to treat COVID-19 patients in the Klang Valley alone.

There are seven hospitals dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 in the Klang Valley that covers Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

Dr Noor Hisham said 277 ICU beds were allocated for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients in the Klang Valley and of the total, 152 critical beds were dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients with the current utilisation rate having reached over 88 per cent.

“MOH monitors the use and availability of critical/ICU and non-critical beds for COVID-19 patients in the Klang Valley through the COVID-19 the Central Region COVID-19 Unified Command Centre,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said from Jan 1 to May 1, the COVID-19 incidence rate in Malaysia was 827 cases per 100,000 population.

The three states that recorded the highest incidence rate were Kuala Lumpur at 1,583, Selangor (1,486) and Putrajaya (1,140).

The country’s infectivity rate or R-naught (Rt) is now at 1.14 with Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya recording 1.20, 1.16 and 1.0, respectively.

-- BERNAMA