COVID: PKRC at MAEPS prepared to open more halls

Its director Dr Shahabuddin Ibrahim today said five halls were currently open, namely Halls A, B, C, D1 and DG, which housed a total of 3,883 COVID-19 patients from categories 1, 2, and 3.

"From time to time we are adapting to the needs and risks involved, for example, looking at the increase in COVID-19 cases for category 3, we can already expect it will cause a backlog at the Sungai Buloh Hospital.

"We are always a few steps ahead, and even now, we are making preparations to open another hall, namely Hall E (to accommodate the increase in patients)," he told the media after checking the preparations for Hall F which is expected to begin operating tomorrow.

COVID-19 category 1 and 2 patients were asymptomatic patients or had mild symptoms, while category 3 were symptomatic with pneumonia and category 4 were symptomatic with pneumonia and required oxygen assistance.

Hall A currently houses patients from categories 1, 2 and 3; Hall B places category 3 patients while Hall C, D1 and DG house category 1 and 2 patients.

As of now, PKRC at MAEPS has a capacity of 5,869 beds, with about 70 per cent already filled.

Dr Shahabuddin said PKRC MAEPS was also ready to accept more category 4 transit patients.

"From the time the PKRC was initially setup, the main purpose other than for quarantine, was to serve as a buffer to hospitals in the Klang Valley, and we concentrate on category 3, 2 and 1 patients.

"We really have to be ready to accept more category 4 patients which may be housed in Hall B for patients with long-term oxygen dependency, but our target is, within six hours, we will transfer them to the Sungai Buloh Hospital," he said.

Currently, category 4 COVID-19 patients are temporarily housed in a negative pressure isolation tent, acting as a transit Intensive Care Unit (ICU) known as the MAEPS Acute Resuscitation And Isolation Area (MARIA).

Critical patients who need respiratory assistance will be stabilised first at MARIA before being re-admitted to the ward or taken to the Sungai Buloh Hospital for further treatment.

On the opening of Hall F, Dr Shahabuddin said it provided 580 beds to accommodate category 1 and 2 patients.

"We want to provide a little more comfort for our citizens, so we built this Hall F with the best possible facilities such as air conditioning, a lounge for patients to relax and there are dividers that separate male from female patients.

"This is to ensure that those housed in Hall F are more comfortable, including having access to surau and toilet facilities," he said.