Deputy Premier: Sarawak approves RM4.58 mln to battle Covid-19, includes additional funds for field hospital in Kuching

KUCHING (Dec 21): The Sarawak government has approved an allocation of RM4.58 million as part of its continuous efforts to combat Covid-19, said Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

The Deputy Premier and Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman said the figure includes RM2 million in additional funds for the construction of a field hospital in Kuching.

Works on the field hospital, which now has a total allocation of RM5 million, will begin in January near the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).

Sibu and Kapit already have a field hospital each, while another in Miri is still under construction, Uggah told a press conference here today.

The field hospital in Kuching will have 88 beds, while the ones in Sibu and Miri have 100 beds each, he said, adding Kapit’s field hospital is run by the army.

He said another RM2.1 million will go towards purchasing Paxlovid anti-viral tablets, particularly for the high-risk group.

“We must make sure there is enough stock. It seems that the number of Covid-19 cases will rise before any festival. So, we need to prepare for during Chinese New Year and or Hari Raya,” he said.

He added RM300,000 will go to purchasing Covid-19 test kits, while RM450,000 will be for 150 sets of canopies.

Uggah said while anti-viral tablets would be free for the public, private hospitals or clinics could still charge patients consultation fees.

While no travel restrictions are being imposed at present, he said members of the public are advised to heed Ministry of Health guidelines on self-protection from Covid-19.

“Now we are in a better position to handle the pandemic,” he said.

Uggah pointed out Covid-19 cases in Sarawak have been increasing since Epid Week 36 (Sept 3-9, 2023).

In Epid Week 50 (Dec 10-16, 2023) the number of cases was 631 — an increase of 103.5 per cent compared to the 310 cases the week before.

As no new deaths from Covid-19 were reported in Epid Week 50, total deaths from the virus in Sarawak remained at nine cases this year, he said.

The Deputy Premier said there has also been an increasing trend in the number of cases admitted to hospital since early last month.

In Epid Week 50, 45 patients were admitted to hospital in categories 3, 4, and 5, compared to 25 cases the previous week.

“Inpatient management is still within our capacity and manageable now and the hospitals are strengthening their preparedness to handle severe Covid-19 cases, in view of increasing cases and admissions reported in the past few weeks,” he added.

Among those at the press conference were Deputy State Secretary Datu Buckland Bangik and Deputy State Health director Dr Veronica Lugah.