PUTRAJAYA (April 28): The daily data and analysis report on Covid-19 issued by the Health Ministry (MoH) is valid and accurate and verified at all levels of the ministry, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

“The Covid-19 data in Malaysia is handled in accordance with stipulated procedures to ensure their accuracy and validity,” he said in response to an allegation that the data on Covid-19 in the country was fabricated.

In a joint press conference on the development of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme with its coordinating minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, here today, Dr Adham said Malaysia has recorded a total of 398,451 Covid-19 cases as of yesterday.

On the procedures involved in gathering the data on Covid-19 cases, he said, all the test results conducted at government health clinics, hospitals or private health service facilities have to be uploaded into the Public Health Laboratory Information System (SIMKA).

The system is monitored by the MoH through the District Health Offices (PKD), the State Health Departments and the National Public Health Laboratory, to ensure appropriate action is taken, he added.

He said PKD is responsible for investigating, managing admissions to hospitals, the low risk quarantine treatment centres (PKRC) of Covid-19 patients or those treated at home based on the risk assessments conducted, conduct screening on close contacts and issued quarantine orders.

The completed data from PKD is then sent to the state Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) before it is channelled to the National CPRC, where the data from all states are received no later than 12 noon by the data management team at the National CPRC, he added.

“The data will then be checked [by] the officer in charge at MoH … when the data is confirmed, it will be registered as Covid-19 Malaysia daily data,” he said, adding that the data is also used to prepare the press statement of health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the data would also be used to analyse the Covid-19 situation in the country, including case trends, infectivity rate, hospital and laboratory capacity, as well as on the effectiveness of preventive or control measures taken.

All health personnel involved in data management at the district level up to the national level are required to maintain the confidentiality of the data collected on the Covid-19 patients, he added.

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