COVID-19: It's been a year, MOH staff continues to soldier on in fighting the pandemic

KUALA LUMPUR: It has been a year since COVID-19 hit the country, yet the staff of the Ministry of Health (MOH) are still committed and working tirelessly in the fight against the deadly pandemic.

A posting by MOH on its Facebook read, work continues as usual by all top management of MOH and also the MOH frontliners at hospitals, Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC), COVID-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) and clinics nationwide.

The posting also stated that the National CPRC meeting is held virtually today and involved state health directors nationwide.

"The focus is on strategies in addressing COVID-19 and strengthening the 213 COVID-19 Assessment Centres, CAC nationwide," it said.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba and his deputy, Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali, as well as Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on public health, Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood, were among those at the meeting.

MOH recalled the first COVID-19 case reported in Malaysia which involved three Chinese nationals who entered the country via Johor from Singapore.

"The first three positive cases in Malaysia are close family members of a 66-year-old man and his son, who is from Wuhan, China, who were recorded as the first two positive COVID-19 cases in Singapore. They were later treated at Sungai Buloh Hospital.

"Today, the cases in Malaysia have reached a total of 183,801, a total of 678 people have died and a total of 141,446 people (77 percent) have recovered from the virus.

“The Sungai Buloh Hospital COVID-19 team was also awarded the Global Health Award (GHA) 2020, in addition to several other awards received by the MOH in managing COVID-19.

"Pray that all the MOH frontliners are given the strength in facing this invisible enemy. Our condolences to those who lost their family members to COVID-19. May God continues to protect our beloved country," stated the posting.

Meanwhile, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in his Facebook post, expressed his grief as it has been a year since Malaysia braved the pandemic.

"It saddens me today that we have endured one year of fighting against COVID-19 in our country. The end is nowhere near to be seen. However, despite the mental and physical fatigue, we all need to soldier on. Everyone, no matter who you are, must shoulder this responsibility to save our country together.

"Stay at home if you have no urgent matters outside. Together we can break the chain of COVID-19 transmission. We must be united and together we keep on fighting,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham also advised the public to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs), wear face mask properly, wash hands and maintain physical distancing, as each individual must shoulder the responsibility to save the country.

--BERNAMA