KUCHING: The federal and state governments should consider working together to establish quarantine and treatment facilities for patients suspected of contracting the new Wuhan Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
Yesterday, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii revealed that a patient suspected of being infected with the Wuhan coronavirus has been quarantined at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).
The suspected case in Bintulu is a 25-year-old female Chinese national who has been working for a Chinese firm in the state for two years. She made a business trip to Wuhan on Jan 11 and returned to Bintulu on Jan 16 via Kota Kinabalu.
On Jan 26, the woman became ill. Concerned that she might have contracted the novel coronavirus as she had just visited Wuhan, she sought medical treatment in a private hospital which referred her to Bintulu Hospital where she has been placed in isolation for 14 days.
Muara Tuang assemblyman, Datuk Idris Buang, said such a facility must be far away and separated from crowded hospitals such as Sarawak General Hospital.
“By putting such a patient in existing public or private hospitals would endanger other patients and visitors.
“The chances of spreading the virus there are high and for obvious reason. Not everyone know how to handle the problem,” he said in his press statement.
Therefore, Idris suggested that there should be a new establishment, even if it is just a makeshift but a clean and well-equipped one.
“This is a time that our relevant government departments and their experts should rise to the occasion in a proactive manner,” he said.
