KOTA BHARU, May 6 — The Kelantan government has opened the eighth COVID-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centre (PKRC), at the Gelanggang Seni starting today.
State Local Government, Housing and Health Committee chairman, Dr Izani Husin, said that the new centre was opened as hospital facilities, including existing intensive care units (ICUs) and PKRC, were becoming congested when usage exceeded 80 per cent.
He said that the eighth PKRC in Kelantan was expected to be able to accommodate 150 patients at any one time.
“PKRC Gelanggang Seni is quite special because it will be equipped with better equipment, because it will place people who are more at risk and provide comfort to elderly patients over 60 years old.
“All we know is that even if they are at stage one and have no symptoms, their condition can change at any time. We will place specialists at the PKRCs to monitor patients,” he told a press conference after the state Security Working Committee meeting today.
Also present were state Health Department (JKNK) director, Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin, and state police chief, Datuk Shafien Mamat.
Dr Izani said that the community needed to acknowledge that COVID-19 did exist and the government always thought of the lives of the people.
“That is why the state government has applied to the National Security Council (MKN) to tighten some of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the Movement Control Order (MCO).
“What we see now is that the violation of the SOP is done arbitrarily by the community. Although in Kelantan there are no Ramadan bazaars, the current situation is as if there are bazaars (in the state),” he said.
He stressed that many roadside hawker stalls were found to be too close, without recommended gaps in between, and his party would try to distance them up to three meters from each other.
