Spike in COVID-19 cases: Kelantan to open three more PKRC

KOTA BHARU: Three more COVID-19 Low-Risk Quarantine and Treatment Centres (PKRC) will be opened in three districts in Kelantan to cope with the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the state.

Kelantan PKRC director Dr Mohd Azman Yacob said the three districts were Machang, Pasir Puteh and Kuala Krai.

"We will visit the identified locations today to determine whether they are suitable to be used as a PKRC

"We don't want the new PKRC to be located too far away (from Kota Bharu), like in Gua Musang because it will only focus on the people in the district. If we open it near the Kota Bharu district, we can also accommodate patients from here," he said.

He said this at a press conference after visiting the PKRC at Dewan Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Keseniaan Negara Kelantan (JKKN) in Tanjong Chat, here today.

The PKRC is capable of accommodating 220 bunk beds including 70 beds for category three patients.

Earlier, Dr Mohd Azman handed over the duties of the Kelantan PKRC director to Dr Mohd Zurairie Mohd Zubir.

Meanwhile, Dr Mohd Azman said in the first five months of this year, the Kelantan State Health Department had opened 13 PKRC that are currently housing more than 2,000 patients, indicating that the COVID-19 situation in the state is worrying.

He said Kelantan was the second state in the country with the highest number of PKRC after Sarawak.

"Among the 13 PKRC that are currently operating in the state are at the Kelantan Islamic Rehabilitation Centre (PUTIK) in Pengkalan Chepa; Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Health Campus PKRC in Kubang Kerian; Dewan Jubli Perak Kota Bharu and Youth and Sports Complex in Panji, Kota Bharu.

"Kelantan has also become the first state in the country to have its clinical quarantine centre at Gelanggang Seni Kota Bharu, which is equipped with 30 medical beds, portable oxygen, ectrocardiogram (ECG) machine and other medical equipment," he told Bernama in a special interview.

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in the state has been on the rise over the past three days.

Yesterday, Kelantan recorded 907 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the cumulative figure for positive cases to 26,481.

Dr Mohd Azman advised all Kelantanese to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP) to curb the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the risk of infection.

"The capacity of PKRC in Kelantan has almost reached 100 per cent and the newly opened PKRC can reach its full capacity within 72 hours.

"In fact, the average daily number of patients admitted to the PKRC is higher than those discharged," he said.

-- BERNAMA