About 500 health personnel mobilised to Sarawak to contain rise in COVID-19 cases - Dr Adham

KUCHING: About 500 staff of the Health Ministry will be mobilised to Sarawak to help contain the increase in COVID-19 cases in the state, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba today.

He said the staff would include doctors, nurses, medical assistants, laboratory officers and radiologists from other states and also from the green zones in Sarawak.

"When we do contact tracing in interior areas of the outbreak, we need many staff to do the screening," he told reporters after visiting the Vaccination Centre at Stadium Perpaduan here today.

Meanwhile, on the infectivity rate (Rt) in Sarawak, Dr Adham said it increased to 1.1 today, from 1.08 yesterday.

He said based on the monitoring and analysis carried out so far, the increasing trend in COVID-19 cases in Sarawak began since last Jan 9.

On the visit to the Vaccination Centre, Dr Adham said Sarawak is capable of handling vaccination for up to 40,000 people a day.

On the COVID-19 vaccination for media personnel, he said those who are categorised as frontliners would get the vaccination under phase two of the National COVID-19 Immunisation programme.

Earlier, Dr Adham paid a courtesy call on Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg at the latter's office at Wisma Bapa Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA