More mass screenings coming soon
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is taking a step closer towards its aim of conducting 16,500 Covid-19 tests per day with the procurement of antigen rapid test kits from South Korea.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry was impressed with the high level of accuracy of rapid test kits by South Korean firm SD Biosensor.
“We have been testing several antigen test kits and the good news is that the ones by SD Biosensor have a sensitivity rate of 84.4% and specificity rate of 100%.
“With the antigen rapid test kit, testing can be done at point of care.
“That means you do not need to send the swab test samples to our 43 labs to get the results.
“It can be done at clinics or hospitals that are equipped with biosafety cabinets,” he said.
Previously, Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry had been trying out rapid test kits from various firms but had been unable to find one that had a high level of accuracy.
At the ministry’s daily Covid-19 press conference here yesterday, Dr Noor Hisham said the existing PCR (polymerise chain reaction) tests would complement the antigen rapid test kits if there were any doubts over the results.
“This is what we are trying to embark on. We have already placed our procurement.
“Hopefully, in the next week or so, we can get it.
“Once we do, we can aim to conduct more targeted mass screenings,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said currently there were 43 labs in the country which could produce up to 11,500 Covid-19 test results a day.
With the new test kits, the ministry will be able to increase its capacity closer to its target of 16,500 daily testing.
Yesterday, Dr Noor Hisham announced 110 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 5,182.
He also said 119 more patients had been discharged in the same 24-hour period, which means 2,766 patients have recovered from Covid-19 in Malaysia since the outbreak began.
Currently, 56 patients are being treated at intensive care units (ICU), with 29 of them requiring the use of ventilators.
The country also reported one new death, bringing the Covid-19 death toll to 84 cases.
Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham urged elderly people in the country to seek immediate treatment if they suffered from mild cough, fever, flu or sore throat.
He said Malaysia’s Covid-19 statistics showed that the disease was more prevalent among those who were aged 55 to 64.
The death records also show that 62.6% of fatalities are of those who are 60 years and above.