IPOH, Aug 5 — Three more COVID-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centres (PKRC) will be opened if the number of daily new cases continues to rise in Perak.
Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad said the three PKRC involved the Rakan Muda Complex in Taiping (780 beds), Statistics Training Institute in Sungkai (90) and a private one at Hotel Virgo, Manjung (200).
“When the need arises (with new cases increasing), we are ready to open these PKRC as all the preparations have been made,” he said after visiting the vaccine administering centre (PPV) for the Perak Vaccination Programme (SilverVax) at Ar-Ridzuan Hospital, here, today.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had reportedly said that Perak had been recording an increase of COVID-19 categories 4 and 5 cases which required critical treatment or patients be placed in the intensive care units (ICUs).
He said that until last Saturday, there were 121 COVId-19 patients in Perak being treated at the ICUs with the average of seven-day use of the ICU beds exceeding 100 per cent.
Dr Noor Hisham had also said that the Perak Health Department with the cooperation of the state government and various agencies were actively making preparations in facing the surge in COVID-19 cases predicted to occur in the next two or three weeks.
Meanwhile, Saarani said the additional 50 beds in the PKRC at the Ipoh Badminton Stadium had brought total number to 520.
He said the state government had also opened a PKRC specifically for the Orang Asli with 470 beds placed at the Sinaran Suria PLKN Camp in Sungkai on July 25.
Saarani also said that the SilverVax programme was not created to replace the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) or the Public-Private Partnership COVID-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (PIKAS).
He explained that the SilverVax programme was to help speed up the vaccination rates in Malaysia, particularly in Perak.
The Perak State Development Corporation (PKNPk) through its subsidiary, Majuperak Holdings Bhd had reportedly been appointed to purchase vaccines under the SilverVax programme for the use of private companies and not for the general public.
