Health DG: Challenge in admitting asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic Covid-19 patients to hospital in Sabah

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry faces problems admitting Covid-19 patients in Sabah who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms to hospital due to their lack of knowledge of the disease, says Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The Health director-general explained that the Ministry faced challenges in contact tracing in Sabah as Sabahans lacked the understanding and awareness of the virus compared to those from Peninsular Malaysia.

"When we want to admit those who are asymptomatic but (have tested) positive, we have issues in terms of forcing them to go to hospital," he said during the Ministry's Facebook live press conference on Wednesday (Oct 21).

Dr Noor Hisham said these patients often run away when they see healthcare workers approaching them.

"We also have to look at the security issues because in the interior, for example, in Kampung Air our staff are also exposed to safety (concerns). So we need to work with our counterparts - the police as well as the army - to make sure that the cases that have been diagnosed as positive are brought to hospital.

"This is the challenge we face on the ground," he said.