OUR hospitals are getting overwhelmed by the rising number of COVID-19 cases and the Government should act fast to resolve the matter.
“We should start utilising hotels, hostels and other premises to quarantine COVID-19 patients as the hospitals are getting overwhelmed.
“And we should not forget that effective Jan 1, our 1.7 million strong migrant workers will be tested under a compulsory order. We must act fast,” Klang MP Charles Santiago told FocusM.
Earlier today, Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told online news portal, Malay Mail Online that asymptomatic patients should be isolated at home due to logistic challenges.
He said that the ministry is facing a very high number of cases and logistics issues when it comes to ferrying patients to hospitals.
“This happened in Sabah, too. We are talking about more than 1,000 cases a day. This is because of increased testing among foreign workers and, as expected, more cases being diagnosed.
“Foreign workers have no place in which to be isolated … We have thousands here. We are increasing the number of beds to 10,000,” he was quoted as saying.
Noor Hisham added that people waiting to be taken to hospitals are advised to stay in touch with district health offices.
Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had earlier echoed Santiago’s concerns, urging the Government to take pro-active measures to ensure the healthcare system and frontliners do not get “paralysed” as the COVID-19 cases breached the 100,000 mark.
On that note, Santiago urged the Government to target testing on undocumented migrant workers by offering temporary amnesty to those who come voluntarily.
“They must be assured that no action will be taken against them if they come for testing. If you don’t test the illegal foreign workers, you won’t be able to solve the COVID-19 crisis even in the next two to three years’ time,” he pointed out.
However, the DAP leader acknowledged that there was trust deficit between undocumented migrant workers and the Immigration Department due an incident earlier this year.
“If you remember, the officials announced amnesty for those who come for testing. When they did come, the immigration officers detained and deported them.
“So, the National Security Council (MKN) should address this confusion and the agencies under it must work as one unit,” he said.
Santiago added that the Government should also conduct public service announcements (PSA) to raise awareness among migrant workers, using their mother tongue.
“The authorities can come up with videos and hotlines in their native language to raise awareness of COVID-19 and how to prevent its spread,” he added. – Dec 28, 2020
