KUCHING, July 30 — State Health Department director Dr Chin Zin Hing today dismissed claims on social media that Kota Sentosa Hospital has run out of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for its frontline staff.
He said the hospital has enough stock to last 69 days based on the current rate of usage by the frontliners.
“So, we have no problem of supply at the moment,” he said during a media briefing presided by Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.
“There are people who still donate PPE to the hospital, and we are willing to accept PPE.
“But when we accept PPE, it does not mean that we have insufficient supply,” he said.
Dr Chin said the state Health Department received a large stock of PPE from the Ministry of Health during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic when the movement control order (MCO) was enforced throughout the country.
“Now, we use less PPE compared to the peak period,” he said.
On claims that designated hostels used to quarantine persons-under-investigation (PUIs) were in a poor condition, Dr Chin said only one or two rooms of a hostel were experiencing “small problems” while the rest were “generally satisfactory”.
“We have taken action to rectify the problems,” he said.
Uggah, who is also deputy chief minister, described the claims as mischievous accusations and without basis.
He said it is true that the SDMC and the state Health Department faced problems at the initial stages of the pandemic due to the shortage of PPE and other medical equipment.
“But we have managed to overcome the problems after studying the shortcomings,” he said.
He said the state government will help SDMC and the Health Department if there are problems with the acquisition of PPE.
“Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg has informed us that the state government will give us whatever facilities are required to manage the Covid-19 crisis,” he added.
Kota Sentosa Hospital is one of 10 active Covid-19 clusters in Kuching district, registering 31 positive cases to date.
