News by Emir Zainul

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also updated that there are now 76 patients under intensive care units (ICU) with 45 of them requiring respiratory assistance.

As of yesterday, there were 46 infections confirmed in Sepang, Selangor, and 42 in Kota Samarahan, Sarawak.

"If possible, for Malaysians working in Singapore, they should remain in Singapore for two more weeks."

MoH director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the number of such cases is small compared with the total number of confirmed cases, which has reached 3,963 today.

Death toll increased to 57, with four new cases.

However, the ministry now faces the issue of distributing the PPEs to the respective hospitals in need of the gears, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.

Also involved in the collaboration is the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)

More specifically, MoH director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry needs more anesthesiologists and nurses with specialized experience in intensive care to help attend increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients who are required to be placed in intensive care units (ICU). 

Director-General, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah explained that as long as the number of new cases are maintained at 150-200 cases daily, the outbreak is still manageable. 

"Nonetheless, we are prepared for the worst," he said.

The collaboration is to facilitate the research on a novel antiviral drug called Remdesivir, which, according to Dr Noor Hisham, has been identified as a possible medicine to treat COVID-19 patients.