PENANG may look to have fewer Covid-19 cases these days but the situation is still not stabilised, says state Welfare and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh.
Based on the total number of 197 people needing oxygen concentrators on loan from PgCare Alliance, Phee, who is also the state Emergency Response Team chairman, said that was ‘not a good sign’.
However, the Penang Covid-19 Call Centre, which started operations in Komtar on Sept 15, has now an average of 80 home quarantine patients per day to call, instead of previously 600 to 700 daily from a list provided by the state Health Department.
“I would say this is a temporary relief because the good sign must come from the people.
“The people must ensure the good sign remains by being very disciplined, follow the SOPs and don’t take the good sign for granted.
“For those who had gone to the hospital and been discharged from ICU (intensive care unit), most of them have lung damage.
“To a certain extent, they need time to recuperate. When this is happening they need oxygen concentrators.
“As of today, 197 oxygen concentrators are loaned out. That is not a good sign.
“Besides instilling awareness and prevention, the Penang state government is providing post-Covid assistance.
“All these oxygen concentrators are donated by individuals, NGOs and MNCs. That is a very good sign that the people are with us. The people are supporting us in this war against Covid,” Phee said.
He said the situation is still full of uncertainty as the average daily spike in cases can sometimes be more than 15%.
To compound the problem, he said there are people who did not report to the state Health Department after undergoing self-testing and getting a positive result.
The Penang Covid-19 Call Centre (04-261 8000) operates from 8am to 5pm daily. With less than 100 calls per day, the number of staff members there has been reduced from the original six to three, and then to two.
Phee said for instance yesterday, the centre received a list of 88 people from the state Health Department, of whom 79 were successfully contacted and nine were not reachable. Only two calls were received from the public. Out of the 79 patients, 22 of them had close contact and were given due advice.
Phee said the Covid-19 Assessment Centre or CAC Call Centre (04-291 0110) operates 24 hours per day, running on four shifts from 8am to 2pm, 2pm to 8pm, 8pm to 2am and 2am to 8am.
Each shift has 15 members on duty. Its operation is in four languages, namely Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin/Hokkien and Tamil.
For those who need ambulance service, they can call 999.
He also urged the state Health Department to take calls from the public as they have been complaints of many unanswered calls.
“The Penang government has made much effort to reduce the burden on the Health Department, so I hope they can answer calls from the people,” Phee said.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis