SIBU, May 31 (Sin Chew Daily) — Sibu Hospital receives four sets of high flow nasal cannula donated by Yayasan Sin Chew and Buddhist group Fo Guan Shan as more confirmed COVID-19 cases are reported in Sarawak.

Sibu Hospital director Dr Nanthakumar Thirunavukkarasu received the machines worth almost RM100,000 last Wednesday.

Last year, Yayasan Sin Chew and Fo Guang Shan contributed medical equipment in two batches, including a medical device for anesthesia worth RM240,000, to the same hospital.

Due to shortage of ventilators, the four sets of high flow nasal cannula were put to use immediately.

The arrival of four sets of high flow nasal cannula have helped ease the situation as patients diagnosed with COVID-19 take turns to use the ventilators at the hospital.

Dr Betty Lee Leh Sieng, who heads the hospital's anesthesiology department, expressed gratitude to Yayasan Sin Chew and Fo Guang Shan for supporting the hospital.

Both Yayasan Sin Chew and Fo Guang Shan launched the "Help COVID-19 4.0" campaign on May 10 this year to raise funds for the purchase of medical device and respiratory equipment to save those down with COVID-19.

"Help COVID-19 4.0" is the third relief campaign launched by Yayasan Sin Chew and Fo Guang Shan since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in March last year.

Yayasan Sin Chew vice chairman Siew Nyoke Chow, who was in charge of overall planning, said many kindhearted donors were willing to help hospitals in East Malaysia.

The "Help COVID-19 3.0" campaign launched by Yayasan Sin Chew, Fo Guang Shan and Chi Hui Tang last October donated medical equipment to various hospitals in Sabah after a spike in COVID-19 cases as a result of the state election.

"The third wave started in April and the coronavirus spread fast in the longhouse communities, causing a spike in confirmed cases in Sarawak.

"Sibu is hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. We learned from media reports that the ventilators contributed to Sibu Hospital earlier were not able to function. Hence, we decided to contribute four units of high flow nasal cannula to the hospital," she said.