Malaysia more prepared than before to handle, curb COVID-19

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6  — Malaysia’s healthcare system, facilities and preparedness will enable the country to handle the current situation of COVID-19 without having to close its economic sectors again, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said. He said he strongly believed that the country’s current healthcare system was more prepared to handle and curb the spread of COVID-19 in the community compared to before.

“We are now better prepared than before in terms of experience and manpower. We know the behavior of the virus better and we have enough facilities and equipment,” he said in a special address to the nation over television and Facebook on the latest COVID-19 situation in the country.

Elaborating, Muhyiddin said he was informed by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah that the number of ventilators, as well as the supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medicines, were adequate.

Even the number of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients is sufficient with the current occupancy rate stood at only 29 per cent, he said.

The Prime Minister also called on the people who have yet to download and register the MySejahtera mobile app to quickly do so to ease the detection process of those who may have been in close contact with COVID-19 patients.

At present, the percentage of Malaysians using the MySejahtera application is estimated at over 60 per cent.

While describing it as a positive development in the fight against the pandemic, Muhyiddin also expressed confidence that the curve of daily cases of COVID-19 infection, which is quite worrying at the moment, could be flattened again with the cooperation from all quarters.

“Let’s face this war against COVID-19 together. Remember, we have successfully flattened the curve of  COVID-19 infection before. I am confident and I believe we can work together to flatten it again. InsyaAllah, let’s pray that we will win this,” he added.

— BERNAMA