Covid-19: Signs indicate MAEPS may be reopened as PKRC

PETALING JAYA: As daily Covid-19 reached an all time high on Wednesday (Feb 23), preparations are seemingly underway to re-activate the low-risk quarantine and treatment centre (PKRC) in Serdang, Selangor.

The Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) uploaded photos to its Facebook page of preparations at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS) in Serdang on Wednesday.

MAEPS had previously served as a quarantine centre catering to the central region of the country.

The post noted that the council’s special action squad along with other agencies were helping out with the preparations.

Among the tasks included the rearrangement of facilities at Hall A of the quarantine centre.

Photos also showed beds lined-up to accommodate patients.

Sources familiar with the matter said the Selangor Health Department had previously indicated plans to re-open the quarantine centre in view of the rising number of cases.

The centre was closed on Feb 8 after operating for 14 months and treating 166,072 Covid-19 patients who were in categories 1 to 4.

National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) director-general Datuk Dr Aminuddin Hassim reportedly said the MAEPS PKRC 2.0 was closed as it was no longer economical to continue operations, taking into account operating costs and the declining number of patients.

Malaysia reported 31,199 new Covid-19 cases on Feb 23, which is the highest daily count to date.

The fresh cases took the cumulative total to 3,305,157.

Meanwhile, Selangor reported 7,798 cases on Feb 23, while Kuala Lumpur saw 2,186 cases.

According to the CovidNow portal, the hospital bed utilisation rate in the Klang Valley had reached 67.2% with 607 admissions on Wednesday.