KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — The government is reopening the Integrated Quarantine and Treatment Centre (PKRC) at Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) to accommodate Covid-19 patients starting tomorrow, just 16 days after the centre’s closure.
In making the announcement today, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that this was a preemptive move in view of rising Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.
“This is not because there are not enough beds in the hospital (to deal with Covid-19 patients),” he stressed during a press conference today.
“It is to give us a buffer to our hospitals that have started giving non-Covid services and treatments, especially elective procedures, that were delayed for these past two years… so that these services are not disturbed or need to be stopped,” he said.
He added that the MAEPS centre would be suited towards “low-risk” patients and those needing “step-down care”.
The centre is to reopen tomorrow with 100 beds, with another “buffer” of 850 beds.
It was closed on February 8 this year, after the government said it was no longer economical, citing operating costs and a decline in the number of patients.
The centre, which was one of the largest quarantine centres in Malaysia, started operating from December 9, 2020, and grew to have a maximum capacity of 10,000 beds.
