Hospital director Dr Zulkarnain Mohd Rawi, in a statement posted on the HTAR Facebook page, said that investigations revealed that no patients were found sitting on the floor using cardboards at the emergency and trauma department.

“In the event that there are not enough beds to accommodate the number of patients, they will be temporarily asked to sit on chairs or wheelchairs,” he said.

Zulkarnain explained that Covid-19 patients, transferred from the emergency and trauma department to a temporary ward located at the Ambulatory Care Complex (ACC), were made comfortable as it was equipped with air conditioning.

“The department is currently waiting for the opening of a field hospital at HTAR, which is expected to start operating in the next few days, to accommodate the relatively large number of Covid-19 patients,” he said.

Zulkarnain was responding to a screenshot of an online news portal report shared by a local politician on his Facebook page claiming inadequate medical supplies and equipment at the HTAR.