Not getting medical care despite symptoms to blame for Covid-19 brought-in-dead cases, says S’wak Health director

Medical workers move the body of a Covid-19 patient. — Bernama photo

KUCHING (Sept 30): The increasing number of Covid-19 brought-in-dead (BID) cases in Sarawak is due to individuals not seeking medical help despite having symptoms for days, said Datuk Dr Mohamed Sapian Mohamed.

The state Health director said those BID cases were mostly aged 60 and above, as well as those with comorbidities.

“In Sarawak, BID occurs because they did not seek medical help even though they had symptoms for many days. They used traditional medicine instead.

“Most of these people were aged more than 60 and have associated comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, heart, and kidney diseases,” he told The Borneo Post today when contacted.

He was commenting on the 11 out of 26 Covid-19 fatalities recorded in Sarawak between Sept 19 and 28, which were BID cases.

Dr Mohamed Sapian said his department is scaling up health promotion and health-seeking behaviour among the community, especially among those living with their elderly parents.

He said the department is also circulating information on warning signs as well as contact numbers for the community to reach out for help or enquiries.

“These phone numbers are for all divisions,” he added.

Dr Mohamed Sapian also advised the people to get an oximeter.

“Having an oximeter at home is very useful also. When the level (oxygen saturation) drops below 95 (per cent) they can come to our health facilities or contact those phone numbers for assistance.

“We are also engaging public, especially in longhouses and rural areas, to monitor the health of their folk. If they have symptoms and found warning signs, they should seek advice from health personnel,” he pointed out.

Dr Mohamed Sapian added that the BID cases had not been tested for the virus because they did not seek treatment from any health facility.

Yesterday, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said Sarawak recorded 26 Covid-19 deaths from Sept 19 till Sept 28, with 11 being brought-in-dead (BID) cases.

SDMC added that all deaths from Sept 19 to Sept 25 were BID cases.

To date, Sarawak has recorded a total of 820 Covid-19 fatalities.

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