Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state health department will convert the Caring Society Complex, which was previously used as a vaccination centre, into a PKRC to cope with the rising number of Category 4 and 5 patients.
He said the centre will have 97 beds offering oxygen treatment with work to convert the facility in Scotland Road having already started yesterday.
Chow said the required medical equipment are two resuscitation beds for critical patients, vital sign monitors (8 units), electrocardiogram (ECG, 1), ophthalmoscope otoscope diagnostic set (1), emergency trolleys (1), portable suction (1), x-ray viewing box (1), video laryngoscope (1), transport ventilators (1), manual defibrillators (1), portable suction (1), syringe pumps (20), medication cart trolley (3), water dispenser (10), and medication cabinet (1).
As for non-medical items, the state needs two camps (tents) with fans and electrical sockets, swab booths (2), industrial fans (10), wheelchairs (20), linen closets (2), whiteboards with wheels (4), laptop computers (10), printers (2), and power extension cables (10).
Chow said those interested to donate can contact the Penang health department’s Dr Lingeshwaran R Arunasalam (012-594 4347) or Abdul Halim Abd Hamid (012-407 3200).
He said those who would like to donate cash can do so by banking into the state Covid-19 fund at 5570 5462 0930 (Maybank).
Cases jumped due to RTK-Antigen tests, says health deputy DG
Separately, health deputy director-general (medical) Dr Asmayani Khalib said the 1,867 cases recorded today in Penang were from factories, symptomatic and sporadic cases that saw a jump.
She said the record high numbers were also caused by the adoption of RTK-Antigen tests (where test results are immediate) since last week for a quick turnaround after the positivity rate shot above 10%.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a threshold for countries to ensure that their Covid-19 positivity rate is below 5% a week.
Asmayani said the RTK-Antigen tests yielded 1,257 positive cases today.
“The RTK-Antigen test allows us to quickly isolate positive cases, compared with the longer time needed to get the result for an RT-PCR test,” the outgoing Penang health director said.
Seberang Perai Central district continues to be Penang’s Covid-19 major hotspot, recording 738 cases today, with most of it centred in Juru and Bukit Tengah – two highly industrialised centres on the mainland.
Kepala Batas and Butterworth continue to be hotspots in Seberang Perai North, recording 485 and 465 cases in the past two weeks. Bukit Tambun and Simpang Ampat hit 376 and 438 cases, respectively, in the same period.
On the island, the greater Bayan Baru area, including the Free Industrial Zone recorded the worst numbers with 1,097 cases in the past two weeks, followed by Mukim 13 (Bandar Baru Air Itam, Paya Terubong and Relau) with 817 cases during the same period.
There are an overall 64,704 cases, with 8,248 active cases, 335 deaths, and a total of 15,507 cases in the past two weeks. Recoveries stood at 56,121.
The state has given out 962,161 first dose of the Covid-19 vaccines, covering 54% of its target population of 1.3 million people as of Aug 15, while 506,626 people, or 28%, have been fully vaccinated.
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