MoH: 1,359 healthcare workers infected by Covid-19 since third wave began

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): The Ministry of Health (MoH) said 1,359 of its healthcare workers have been infected by Covid-19 since the third wave of the outbreak began in September.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this includes 43 new cases reported today.

This raised the to-date confirmed cases among healthcare workers in the country to 1,771, he said in a statement.

Below are five groups of healthcare workers with the highest number of Covid-19 infections since the pandemic hit the country in January:

·Nurses with 690 cases

·Medical Officers with 211 cases

·Healthcare Assistants with 146 cases

·Assistant Medical Officers with 144 cases

·Graduate Medical Officers with 84 cases

As to the source of infections, Dr Noor Hisham said 587 of healthcare workers were infected by the community, 565 cases from transmissions among colleagues, 152 from patients who had not yet been diagnosed with Covid-19, and 58 from unknown cases. 409 cases are still under investigations.

“As of Dec 18, 280 staff are receiving treatment in hospitals and in stable condition with a recovery rate of as much as 84.2%. A total of 1,697 health workers across the country are undergoing Home Surveillance Order (HSO),” added Noor Hisham.

Among the public hospitals in Selangor, the one with the highest number of Covid-19 infections is the Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang with 54 cases, followed by Serdang Hospital with 29 cases, Sungai Buloh Hospital with 15 cases, and the Selayang Hospital (four cases).

As for public hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, 10 cases were reported in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and five in Ampang Hospital.

Dr Noor Hisham said the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases among healthcare workers in the Klang Valley is believed to be related to the spike of cases from the community.

“However, cases in all the hospitals involved are still under control and health services are still ongoing,” he said.

As to the Covid-19 infections in the Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, Dr Noor Hisham said all infected are being treated and are in stable condition.

“HTAR (Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital) and the Klang District Health Office (PKD) are actively working together to investigate the cause of infections, as well as identifying close contacts and conducting screening activities.

“To date, a total of 72 HTAR officers are undergoing HSO orders. Cleaning and disinfection operations have been carried out at the hospital and will be continued periodically. The current situation at HTAR is under control and services continue as usual,”added Dr Noor Hisham.

As for Serdang Hospital, Dr Noor Hisham also confirmed that 29 medical staff and 28 patients have been infected by the coronavirus there.

All of them have been sent to Sungai Buloh Hospital for further treatments, he added.

Malaysia today reported 1,683 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the nationwide tally to 90,816.

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