KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — Effective October 4, the Health Ministry (MOH) will allow fully vaccinated husbands or immediate family members to be present with wives in the labour room during childbirth, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said the completed vaccination period for the Pfizer, Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines is 14 days after being administered with the second dose while it is 28 days after receiving single-dose vaccines such as CanSino and Johnson & Johnson.
In addition, the husband or immediate family member must undergo a Covid-19 screening test (RT-PCR or RTK-Ag) at any health facility or private laboratory within 72 hours, and the test results must be brought along before accompanying the pregnant mother into the maternity ward.
“The husband or immediate family member should also limit their movement after undergoing the RT-PCR or RTK-Ag tests,” he said in a statement, yesterday.
Dr Noor Hisham said they could also buy a self-test kit approved by the Medical Device Authority (MDA) and take it to the hospital to undergo the Covid-19 self-detection test at the screening area provided at the hospital with monitoring and verification by the health staff on duty.
Those who accompany pregnant women are also reminded to always practise the standard operating procedures (SOP) set as these groups are at high risk and need to be protected.
“MOH hopes the community, especially pregnant women as well as husbands and family members can benefit from this facility that has been provided,” he said.
According to the statement, a letter of instruction from the deputy Health DG (Medical) dated September 28, 2021 on the implementation of this initiative has been distributed to all state health directors for implementation from October 4 to provide sufficient time for hospitals to carry out the necessary preparations.
— Bernama
