{"id":3698,"date":"2020-04-29T22:49:06","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T14:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=3698"},"modified":"2020-04-29T22:49:06","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T14:49:06","slug":"moh-to-give-sabah-sarawak-priority-to-use-rapid-test-kits-health-d-g","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=3698","title":{"rendered":"MOH to give Sabah, Sarawak priority to use rapid test kits – Health DG"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PUTRAJAYA, April 29 – Sabah and Sarawak will be given priority when the Ministry of Health (MOH) receives the first batch of rapid test kits imported from South Korea on Friday, said\u00a0Health director-general\u00a0Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.<\/p>\n

He said the MOH expects to receive a total of 50,000 kits, with some set to be placed for use at entry points at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).<\/p>\n

\u201cPriority for the use of these rapid test kits will be given to Sabah and Sarawak because the advantage of these rapid test kits is that testing can be done at point of care and results can be produced quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIf we look at it logistically in Sabah and Sarawak, maybe in terms of transporting the samples and such, the use of this rapid test kit will help. So, we will give priority to Sabah and Sarawak,\u201d he said at the daily press conference on COVID-19 here today.<\/p>\n

He said the ministry would also put two biosafety cabinets in KLIA so that health workers could use the kits to test passengers arriving there.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext week (we\u2019ll) implement it, we will also distribute the rapid test kits and train our staff on how to use the antigen rapid test kits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In another development, Dr Noor Hisham said research found that COVID-19 virus which had mutated would become more aggressive and had the potential to infect more individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been informed that so far there are 30 mutations and, at the Institute for\u00a0Medical Research (IMR), we also carried out virus isolation and also cultured the virus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found in the case of patient No 26, for example, we have studied the virus and found that there was a mutation which made it more aggressive\u00a0and it has spread and infected about 120 people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat IMR needs to do now is not to just focus on carrying out more tests but to focus on isolating the virus and study the\u00a0different strains, like\u00a0the first wave of infections and the initial stages of the second wave, the virus in our cases were of strain B, which is the same as in Wuhan, China.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we need to do is conduct studies\u00a0on the second wave of our confirmed patients and those returning from a particular country, (besides) isolating the virus culture and studying the virus,\u201d\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, he said that COVID-19 patients\u00a0who\u00a0had mild symptoms or asymptomatic despite being positive\u00a0and are being treated at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (HKL) would be taken to the Quarantine and Treatment Centre for low-risk COVID-19 patients at the\u00a0Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) in stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor category four and five cases, we will transfer them to Sungai Buloh Hospital\u2026\u00a0we will free up HKL for the time being so that they can focus on other activities (treatment),\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Dr Noor Hisham also emphasised\u00a0that only elective surgeries in government hospitals had been postponed while emergency surgeries and treatment of cancer patients would continue.<\/p>\n

– BERNAMA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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