ALOR SETAR: Frontliners here are still able to cope with the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases in the state, which tallied over 1,000 cases daily in the past few weeks.

       State health director Dr Othman Warijo said the state authority could still manage on its own without help from other states.

       He said they would add more intensive care unit (ICU) beds in public hospitals should the need arise, adding that the usage of ICU beds in the state had now reached 90% almost every day.

       “We can still cope with the surge in daily cases with our existing health facilities.

       “If there is a need to add more special wards for Covid-19 patients, we have the resources to do that.

       “We have also gotten help from volunteers at vaccination centres (PPV), Low-Risk Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centres (PKRC) and Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC),” he said.

       The grim situation in Kedah has raised the alarm for the state, with more than 1,000 cases recorded daily over the past few days. The highest number was recorded on Aug 1 with 1,511 cases and 10 deaths. The positive cases dropped to 1,108 on Monday and 1,036 yesterday.

       Dr Othman said the state health department had also mobilised its personnel from other districts to handle the situation.

       Citing an example, he said they had assigned food technology and science officers to assist with critical tasks, like taking care of patients at Covid-19 wards, CAC and PKRC.

       “The public too must play their part by following the standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent more outbreaks,” he said.

       On the high number of positive Covid-19 cases in the state, Dr Othman said that this was due to the increasing trend in the country.

       “There is a high possibility that the virus has spread sporadically. The infection can no longer be pinned down to any existing clusters,” he said, adding that people in Kedah should get inoculated to protect themselves and their families.

       On Bukit Malut in Langkawi, Dr Othman said the state health department had increased the screening process among the residents in the locality.

       He said as of Monday, a total of 186 residents had undergone swab tests, 83 of whom tested positive.

       He added that one death was recorded in the area so far, while 806 people had been told to practise self-quarantine.

       Bukit Malut is among the 14 localities under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) from July 27 to Aug 9.

       Meanwhile, Lotus Hypermarket in Sungai Petani has been temporarily closed after several employees tested positive for Covid-19.

       In a notice, the hypermarket said it would close from Aug 3 until further notice to enable screening among its employees.