Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said reports claiming that the personnel were inexperienced were inaccurate as the ministry had done the necessary screening before sending them there.

“It was a nationwide selection. Before they were sent, we had checked their qualifications, areas of expertise and specialisation.

“We held interviews to ensure that only the right persons were selected and deployed,” he said after handing over food basket aid to residents of Semanggol state constituency here.

Noor Azmi, who is also Bagan Serai MP, was asked to comment on a news portal’s report which quoted a Sabah medical doctor as saying that athough several nurses from the peninsula had been mobilised in Sabah, the number had not resolved the manpower shortage.

In the report, the doctor who wanted to remain anonymous, claimed that the healthcare workers arriving in Sabah had to undergo quarantine for one or two weeks, and once the quarantine was over, most of them could not start work immediately as they were “juniors” and inexperienced and had to be taught.

Noor Azmi said the ministry would not open quarantine centres in districts that have low numbers of Covid-19 positive cases due to several factors, among them, the high operating cost.

“Several medical personnel will be needed even if there are very few patients should we decide to open a quarantine centre. Nevertheless, we will look into this. But for now, there are no plans to do so,” he added.

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