KUALA LUMPUR (June 9): The Malaysian Health Coalition has expressed concern over the increasing number of Covid-19 patients brought-in-dead (BID) to hospitals, saying it reflects possible systemic failures.

In a statement today, the coalition noted that 293 or about 10% of the 2,796 Covid-19 deaths recorded as of May 31 were BID cases.

"As many Covid-19 patients do not have symptoms and can rapidly deteriorate, it is possible that many Covid-19 patients BID did not realise they were positive for Covid-19 until it was too late," it noted.

The coalition, which includes health professionals and health professional societies, urged the government to boost testing capacity as this will increase the chances of detecting all Covid-19 patients, not just symptomatic patients.

"Rapid antigen tests can be used for rapid assessments, while the PCR test can be used for those requiring admission. This will allow us to correctly triage and optimally manage all Covid-19 cases," it said.

The coalition also called for relevant research to determine the exact reasons and causes for the high number of Covid-19 patients BID.

"Genomic testing will help us understand if there are more virulent variants in Malaysia. Granular data from this research should be made public for awareness and analysis.

"Systemic barriers like lack of physical access to healthcare facilities or lack of education on Covid-19 symptoms should be identified and addressed, especially in Sabah, which makes up 29% of all BID cases," it stressed.

The Malaysian Health Coalition also urged the government to implement strict assessment and better monitoring of home quarantine patients.

"Home quarantine patients and their caretakers should be properly educated on the self-monitoring of symptoms, and to report red flag symptoms immediately.

"There must be a robust system for district health offices to promptly check on patients who report red flag symptoms, to evaluate whether hospital admissions are necessary. Private sector GPs (general practitioners) should be included in monitoring of home quarantine patients, providing home visits if necessary," it said.

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