KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin should direct the hospitalisation of Category Three Covid-19 patients including those with comorbidities towards field hospitals to reduce overcrowding at public facilities.

He also said more such facilities by the Malaysian Armed Forces should be built.

The Iskandar Puteri MP made the call following an urgent call to action issued by the Penang General Hospital over growing daily Covid-19 cases that has seen the hospital reach its full capacity.

"Khairy should resolve the problems faced by Penang Hospital as well as other public hospitals as a result of the worsening Covid-19 pandemic.

"He should give priority to break the back of the problem of high Covid-19 death rates and high brought-in-dead (BID) Covid-19 deaths.

"To help solve the problem of high Covid-19 deaths and high BID Covid-18 deaths, Khairy should direct the hospitalisation of Category 3 Covid-19 cases and those with comorbidities like obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke and cancers and the urgent construction of more field hospitals by the Armed Forces,” he said in a statement here.

Lim then cited the upward trend in BID involving Covid-19 as a matter of concern since Khairy was appointed as the health minister on August 30.

"In Khairy’s first seven days as the health minister, there were 600 BID Covid-19 deaths as compared to the previous seven days where there were 413 cases.

"The first thing Khairy must do is to ensure that Malaysia drops out of the world’s Top Ten countries in daily new Covid-19 cases and Covid-19 deaths,” he said.