Netizens on Twitterjaya had been super paranoid about how the coronavirus patients were quarantined at Sungai Buloh Hospital, and many of them expressed concerns of possible spread.
A 46-year-old mother told China Press that she insists to visit her injured son at Sungai Buloh Hospital, knowing that the coronavirus patients were under the same roof. She explained that her 21-year-old son was injured in a car accident on 31 December 2019, and he had undergone two surgeries while staying in the hospital to recover.
Source: iStock
“I’m worried that I’ll contract the coronavirus, but I’m even more worried that I don’t get to see my son. I’ll feel terrible if I can’t visit him at the hospital.”
Apparently, she only found out about the quarantined patients yesterday afternoon, and she couldn’t purchase face masks in time. However, the mother and her husband proceeded to visit her son without using face masks.
There’s another similar case where a 55-year-old rubber tapper and her family of 7 came all the way from Kedah to visit one of their relatives at the hospital. They were shocked when they found out about the quarantine, however, they went on with their visit without any preventative measures despite feeling afraid.
Source: Nikkei
Now, reading these incidents might lead us to assume that they’ll spread the virus since they visited the hospital without any prevention. WORLD OF BUZZ managed to contact a doctor who works at Sungai Buloh Hospital as a paediatrician to ask about hospital visits. The doctor responded with a piece of advice that will calm us down a little more.
“I think it is reasonable to wear masks all the time when you’re in a hospital area to prevent you from getting other infections such as influenza, as well as virus.”
Seeing how there’s a debate between “normal” surgical face mask and N95, we proceeded to ask her what type of mask works best. She recommends using N95 masks for better protection.
“N95 masks are for us (medical staff) to handle the patients, and the public can use the normal surgical masks instead. Only the people with direct contact with virus patients should use N95. For the people with no direct contact, you can use the 3-layered blue/green surgical masks, with the coloured side facing toward you.”
Source: New Straits Times
In conclusion, even though Sungai Buloh Hospital is handling the coronavirus patients at the moment, it doesn’t mean that we can’t visit our friends and family who are hospitalised there. It’s heartwarming to see how people are still willing to visit their families in the hospital, but it’s still safer to wear face masks and sanitise at all times.
Also read: Fourth Wuhan Coronavirus Case Confirmed in Malaysia
