KOTA KINABALU:All matters pertaining to health will come under the purview of the Community Development and People's Well-being Ministry, except for matters involving the management of COVID-19 pandemic.

Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who is also the state’s official spokesperson for COVID-19, said the ministry, led by Shahelmey Yahya, would also handle food assistance to affected residents in areas placed under the conditional and enhanced Movement Control Order.

The Finance Minister II said this was agreed during the state Cabinet meeting last week.

The absence of the Health Ministry portfolio in the Sabah Cabinet does not mean that the state government is neglecting the health of the people in the state, he told a press conference at Wisma Innoprise here last night.

Meanwhile, Masidi dismissed a claim which went viral on social media that there is a shortage of PPE in Ranau Hospital.

"If there is a shortage of PPE, other hospitals in the state will immediately channel aid to hospitals that need it," he said.

In a media statement distributed after the press conference, Masidi said 26,379 Sabah Health Department staff are handling COVID-19 cases in the state.

The team includes 255 public health medical personnel from the peninsula and Sarawak.

-- BERNAMA