CORONAVIRUS | The Kota Kinabalu Gleneagles Hospital today confirmed that a patient admitted for an emergency procedure was found to be Covid-19-positive and transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The hospital, in a statement on Monday, said the 55-year-old Malaysian woman had been admitted for an emergency procedure, and following protocol which required compulsory Covid-19 testing for all procedures, the patient was swabbed prior to her procedure.

“Due to the urgency of the patient’s surgery, the hospital proceeded by treating the patient as a suspected case while awaiting the Covid-19 test results.

“The patient’s Covid-19 results came back positive on April 17, and she was promptly transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital I for further confirmation and treatment,” it said, adding that since it had treated the patient as a suspected Covid-19 case, safety measures were implemented in the handling of the patient from the start.

All affected areas were closed for terminal disinfection and all staff who had been in contact with the patient also have been traced and placed under quarantine as a precaution in accordance to guidelines by the District Health Office, with Covid-19 tests carried out on them, the statement read.

The statement said clinical services at the hospital are not affected and patients can continue with their existing care plans knowing that they are in a safe environment.

- Bernama