Sabah Health department to screen high risk groups

By Olivia Miwil - May 7, 2020 @ 11:28am

Sabah will kickstart its targeted screening activity among high risk groups to detect the infection of Covid-19. — Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Health department will kickstart its targeted screening activity among high risk groups to detect the infection of Covid-19, said its director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi.

"It will start with the elderly care centres, besides being able to detect early infection it also ensures that those centres take necessary preventive measures to prevent the infection among residents.

"For now, the Papar health office had conducted screening for senior citizens at the Holy Family Residence in Papar," she said, adding all residents and staff were healthy and 49 samples were taken.

More than 30 per cent of Covid-19 mortality in the country are those aged between 61 and 70.

Besides elderly people, those with existing diseases or conditions, pregnant and young children are also at high risk of getting the infection.

Sabah recorded no new cases for the consecutive third day yesterday with 36 patients still receiving treatment.

Meanwhile, on the immunisation programme, Dr Christina said the coverage has slightly dropped due to the Movement Control Order.

Since December, the state had started a campaign to inoculate all children under the age of 13 to be given oral vaccines against poliomyelitis (polio).

Overall, 681,161 of children under the ages of 13 were given the first dose while only 43.2 per cent had the second dose.

Sabah recorded the first comeback of polio last year after the disease was eradicated for almost three decades.

The state has a total of four polio cases as of yesterday.