Health DG again calls for businesses to adhere to the new normal

By Xavier Kong

HEALTH director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reminded employers and staff to incorporate the new normal into both their working and personal lifestyles, reiterating the importance of the standard operating procedures (SOP) and guidelines that have been put in place.

This, he noted, was to ensure the chain of transmission of Covid-19 is broken, and that all efforts to date do not go to waste.

There were 83 new recoveries reported today, for a total of 4,567 discharged patients. A total of 30 new cases were also confirmed, which brings the total to 6,383. All 30 are local transmission cases, with 24 being foreign workers.

As such, the active transmission cases that are being treated number 1,710, with 24 in intensive care units, of which eight are on ventilator support. A further death was reported, for a death toll of 106.

Dr Noor Hisham said 50,000 antigen rapid test kits have been received, with Sabah and Sarawak receiving 10,000 each. Out of the remaining 30,000, 15,000 made their way to Johor, and 15,000 will be deployed at KLIA 1 and 2. Another 100,000 will be received by the end of the week. Medical personnel are currently being trained in the use of the test kits.

For the healthcare professionals who have been at the frontlines, with the recovering numbers of Covid-19 patients, time off and counseling will be offered on a rotation basis, to “fortify them, as we are still the last line of defence against a disaster,” which Dr Noor Hisham defined as a further outbreak of Covid-19. – May 5, 2020