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Dr Noor Hisham: Covid-19 survivors should form support group, Health Ministry can provide guidance

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham speaking during the Covid-19 press conference at the Ministry of Health October 19, 2020. — Picture by Hari Anggara
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham speaking during the Covid-19 press conference at the Ministry of Health October 19, 2020. — Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today suggested Covid-19 survivors form their own support group after recovery, adding that the Health Ministry will be able to guide them if necessary.

He said that it would be good for Covid-19 survivors to come together and share their experiences with other survivors in terms of how to overcome the mental exhaustion of going through the disease.

“Patients that have recovered can form their own support group, and the Ministry of Health can perhaps support them by providing guidance and advice.

“I think it’s good for them if they can come together to share their experiences, the treatments they went through, the mental exhaustion that comes with it and dealing with stigmatisation from people about one having Covid-19,” the Health director-general said in his daily Covid-19 briefing aired on Facebook.

Dr Noor Hisham added that Covid-19 patients who are asymptomatic take 10 to 14 days to recover before being discharged.

He added that the Health Ministry schedules follow-up appointments with the recovered patients every three months for up to 10 months to keep track of the long-term effect of the virus.

He said this is necessary as it is still too early to understand the long-term complications of Covid-19, especially for those with major symptoms.

“We follow up with every patient that has recovered from Covid-19 to see whether we can document any long-term complications.

“Those patients who are asymptomatic generally recover very well, but our concern is those in categories 4 and 5, who have a higher risk of developing long term complications,” he said.

As of today, a total of 14,931 Malaysians has recovered from Covid-19, with today itself registering 580 more recoveries.

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