Critical care units in Covid-19 hospitals stretched thin

PETALING JAYA: The current usage of critical and intensive care unit beds dedicated to treating Covid-19 patients in the Klang Valley has now reached over 88%, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said a total of 277 ICU beds had been allocated for Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients in the Klang Valley.

“Of these, a total of 152 critical/ICU beds are dedicated to treating Covid-19 patients and the current utilisation rate has reached over 88%, ” said Dr Noor Hisham.

He said the current critical/ICU Covid-19 bed utilisation rate was also found to have exceeded 70% in Hospital Sungai Buloh, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Hospital Ampang, Hospital Serdang and Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah in Klang.

“Hospital Selayang and Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) reported the use of critical/ICU Covid-19 beds at a rate of more than 50%. This is due to the increase in critical case admissions by 62% compared to two weeks ago.”

There are seven hospitals dedicated to the treatment of Covid-19 in the Klang Valley encompassing Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

Covid-19 patients in the Klang Valley alone, added Dr Noor Hisham, required 108 units of ventilators for treatment.

Across the country, 176 Covid-19 patients are on ventilator support, an increase of 15 people.

Nationwide, the number of patients in intensive care units (ICU) stands at 337.

Yesterday, Malaysia recorded 2,881 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 411,594. Selangor recorded the highest daily figure with 759 cases, followed by Sarawak (445) and Kelantan (442).

There were 16 imported cases, including 11 non-citizens. The number of active cases now stands at 29,631.

Fifteen more people – all Malaysians – succumbed to Covid-19 yesterday, bringing the death toll to 1,521.

Of the deaths, five were from Selangor, while Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and Penang recorded two deaths each. Sabah, Terengganu, Kelantan and Negri Sembilan recorded one death each.