MOH: 80 pct brought-in-dead cases never diagnosed with COVID-19

PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Health (MOH) today revealed that 80 per cent of the brought-in-dead (BID) cases for COVID-19 were found to have never been diagnosed with the disease.

Deputy Health director-general (Public Health) Datuk Dr Chong Chee Kheong said they either have no access to diagnosis or had never come forward to be tested.

"We found a big proportion of them are non-Malaysians," he said at a press conference on the development of COVID-19 here today.

Chong said out of the 1,000 deaths reported weekly, 80 to 100 were BID cases.

He Chong said BID has been rising consistently over the last few weeks and to address the situation, Virtual COVID-19 Assessment Centres (VCAC) has been activated a week ago to ensure an efficient management response.

He said the VCAC allows people who tested positive but asymptomatic or have mild symptoms to undergo home isolation and be monitored via Home Assessment Tool (HAT) instead of coming to CAC physically.

"Sixty per cent (of the infected people) are usually asymptomatic and around 30 per cent have mild symptoms. Only five to 10 per cent need to be assessed physically and there are the people who need to come to CAC," he said.

Chong said the VCAC was a method to ensure the asymptomatic cases would not congest the hospitals and physical CAC.

Meanwhile, Chong, who is also the Greater Klang Valley Special Task Force commander, said industry players have agreed to fulfil requirements to prevent more outbreaks at their workplaces.

He said while the key to preventing outbreaks is vaccination, employers must get their employees who are symptomatic tested and provide them access to panel clinics.

"In the event of positive cases, employers must isolate the close contacts and taking care of their welfare by providing food and aid while in isolation," he said.

Chong also urged employers to register for the Safe@Work initiative by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to ensure a safe working environment.

Also present at the press conference were MOH secretary-general Datuk Mohd Shafiq Abdullah, Health deputy director-general (Research and Technical Support) Datuk Dr Hishamshah Mohd Ibrahim and Selangor Health director Datuk Dr Sha'ari Ngadiman.

-- BERNAMA