SANDAKAN: The Duchess of Kent Hospital here has taken proactive measures to accommodate more Covid-19 patients who require oxygen therapy.
Sabah Health director Dr Rose Nani Mudin said the state is experiencing a serious wave of Covid-19 infections.
"Therefore, the women's medical ward here, which has 38 beds will be turned into a Covid-19 ward.
"The Duchess of Kent Hospital has 166 oxygen ports and 42 tanks with a capacity of between 3,000 and 6,000 litres.
"Apart from that, the hospital has acquired 10 oxygen tanks from the Kinabatangan Hospital and another 20 from the Beluran Hospital," she said in a statement.
Sabah recorded 2,594 Covid-19 cases yesterday, of which 320 were in Sandakan.
As for the 14-days moving chart, Sandakan has 3,294 active cases.
16 variants of concern (VOC) including nine Delta variant cases were detected in the state as of Aug 29.
VOCs are associated with increase in transmissibility, virulence and disease severity or decrease in effectiveness of public health measures.
Dr Rose Nani encouraged the people of Sabah to abide by the standard operating procedures (SOP) and to get vaccinated to reduce the severity of Covid-19 infections.
"From our Sabah Health Department's data, 80 to 90 per cent of patients requiring intensive care unit treatment are those who have yet to be inoculated.
"As of yesterday, 59.1 per cent of the adult population in Sabah have received one dose of the vaccine and 40 per cent have completed their vaccination."