More temporary hospitals to be opened if COVID-19 cases spike

The Ministry of Health (MOH) will open more temporary hospitals if COVID-19 cases increase drastically.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the temporary hospitals would be for patients who did not need respiratory aid.

"For example today we have 150 new cases. If we look at the daily situation, there is a sudden increase in new cases, we might open more temporary hospitals at halls and stadiums, if necessary.

"If we receive 1,000 cases a day, we would probably use the temporary hospitals for cases of non-symptomatic but tested positive or patients tested positive with mild symptoms, which do not involve respiratory aid," he told a media conference on the development of COVID-19 today.

Dr Noor Hisham also said the selection of the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS), Serdang as a temporary hospital was in preparation in case a third wave occurred in the light of the high population density in Kuala Lumpur.

Yesterday, he said two MAEPS halls would be used as quarantine and treatment centres to treat COVID-19 positive patients with no symptom or light symptoms.

A total 600 beds were placed in the two halls, namely, 400 units in Hall A and 200 units in Hall B.

In the meantime, he said patients who were transferred to the Ministry of Health Training Institute were cases without symptoms but were positive COVID-19, with symptoms and positive COVID-19 and with light symptoms and positive COVID-19.

''We will transfer them to our training institutes first. The hospitals will be for moderate or critical cases,'' he said.

-- BERNAMA