KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — The government will set up a virtual Covid-19 assessment centre (CAC) to manage mild and asymptomatic patients requiring self-quarantine amid a surging epidemic.
Greater Klang Valley Task Force chief Dr Chong Chee Kheong, in a media briefing today, said the move would reduce traffic at existing CACs which recently saw an increase in people requiring assessment — to the extent of people queueing on streets outside the facilities — due to the prevalence of the Covid-19 virus in the Klang Valley.
“Monitoring will be done virtually without having to be present at a CAC. A digital home surveillance order (HSO) will be issued through the MySejahtera app,” Dr Chong said.
He said although those under HSO would not be given any wristbands, they still needed to stay at home, as required by the law.
It was previously reported that some 4,000 people had arrived at the Malawati Stadium CAC in Shah Alam, Selangor, on Monday to get assessed. The facility was built to accommodate around 2,200 people at a time. Many were said to be walk-in cases with no prior appointments or orders from the Ministry of Health (MOH) to get screened.
Today, MOH reported a record high of 13,215 new Covid-19 cases nationwide, including a 24-hour high of 6,120 infections in Selangor.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba announced that 752 private general practitioners (GPs) have been given the authority under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) to monitor and declare the end of the HSO period for Covid-19 patients.
He said these GPs will assist the Health Ministry in monitoring mild and asymptomatic Covid-19 cases, as well as close contacts who have been isolated.
