Mustafa Shah Abdul Hamid, a member of Umno Youth’s executive committee, said that treating Covid-19 positive individuals at home would endanger others in the household. He questioned if patients would be getting enough attention from health workers.

He said patients who can afford to bear the costs could choose to be treated at these GLC-owned hotels, adding that this is already being done for travellers entering the country from abroad.

He said this suggestion could also be opened up to other hotels. Indirectly, the move could help hotels badly affected by the slump in tourism and business travel.

The government should also consider using any disused national service camp as quarantine centres, he said.

“If these facilities are utilised, it can somewhat help the government manage the load of Covid-19 patients across the country while saving on the costs of setting up new quarantine centres,” he said in a statement today.