PUTRAJAYA: The Selayang Hospital will be turned into a full COVID-19 hospital with capability of providing up to 450 beds for COVID-19 care, said Public Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Chong Chee Kheong.

As one of the strategies to mitigate the surge in COVID-19 cases in the Klang Valley, Dr Chong, who is also the Health Ministry's Greater Klang Valley special task force commander on the pandemic, said that non-COVID-19 patients at Selayang Hospital would be decanted to private hospitals in the region to increase bed capacity for COVID-19 patients in categories 3, 4 and 5.

Category 3 refers to cases with pneumonia but not requiring oxygen, category 4 to those with pneumonia requiring oxygen, while those in category 5 require ventilator support.

Selayang Hospital will be the fourth hospital in the Klang Valley to be turned into a full COVID-19 hospital, Dr Chong said in a statement today.

The Sungai Buloh Hospital, Ampang Hospital and the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang have been turned into full COVID-19 hospitals.

The Greater Klang Valley special task force was established by the Health Ministry to strengthen the Klang Valley's healthcare system's preparedness to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

-- BERNAMA