CORONAVIRUS | The Health Ministry has identified 26 hospitals nationwide to handle the suspected cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus that need further examination and treatment.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (above) cited the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) in Johor Bahru as an example of the referral hospital for cases of suspected and positive coronavirus infection for Johor.

“To ensure optimum utilisation of existing MOH facilities, cases that are suspected or positive for the 2019-CoV and in stable condition will be treated and monitored by HSA JB infectious disease medical team at the isolation ward in Permai Hospital, JB.

“The Permai Hospital has excellent facilities and guarded by auxiliary policemen to ensure no trespassing by irrelevant parties. However, if there are critical cases that require intensive treatment and close monitoring, an isolation ward has been identified for use in the JB HSA,” he said in a statement on KP Health's Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said the procedure to handle suspected cases for public and private health facilities had been issued as a reference to all healthcare professionals on the ground to detect, handle and manage individuals suspected of coronavirus.

He also extended his gratitude to the healthcare personnel, especially those on the ground who were working hard to ensure the clusters of coronavirus infection could be contained.

Meanwhile, in a separate posting, Noor Hisham said the ministry would continue to improve measures for prevention and control of the coronavirus infection.

He said suspected cases would be examined and referred to the hospitals that had been identified for sampling and monitoring of symptoms development.

“These cases will be monitored until after the virus incubation period is over, which is at least 14 days from the date of exposure or departure from China. This is in line with Section 14 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988,” he said.

- Bernama