CORONAVIRUS | The Health Ministry (MOH) is conducting a test on a Korean-made rapid test kit (RTK) for Covid-19 detection and plans to purchase it in mass if it has good accuracy, says Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
The Health director-general told reporters today that they have tested another brand, which is made in China, and decided not to make a purchase from the company due to its low accuracy rate.
"At the moment, our laboratories have the capacity to process 7,100 cases a day. Today we are testing a Korean antigen test kit, and if it is a success, we will make an order of 200,000 units.
"If the accuracy is not good, then we will not order it. Hopefully we can know the decision by tonight," he told a press conference in Putrajaya this evening.
He was answering a question on the current capacity of Covid-19 tests by MOH labs nationwide.
Noor Hisham said if the test done by the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) found that the RTK from Korea has a high accuracy rate, they would order up to one million units.
Earlier this week, the top MOH officer had said that the ministry was looking to enhance its capability to detect Covid-19 positive cases in the country by using RTKs.
However, he stressed that MOH would have to test the kits first to see their accuracy. The health authority would also only use kits that detect antigen, and not human antibody, for better accuracy.
"At the moment, our laboratories have the capacity to process 7,100 cases a day. Today we are testing a Korean antigen test kit, and if it is a success, we will make an order of 200,000 units.
"If the accuracy is not good, then we will not order it. Hopefully we can know the decision by tonight," he told a press conference in Putrajaya this evening.
He was answering a question on the current capacity of Covid-19 tests by MOH labs nationwide.
Noor Hisham said if the test done by the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) found that the RTK from Korea has a high accuracy rate, they would order up to one million units.
Earlier this week, the top MOH officer had said that the ministry was looking to enhance its capability to detect Covid-19 positive cases in the country by using RTKs.
However, he stressed that MOH would have to test the kits first to see their accuracy. The health authority would also only use kits that detect antigen, and not human antibody, for better accuracy.
Noor Hisham had previously warned that many Covid-19 tests sold on the market could only detect antibodies produced by the body to fight off an infection - not the presence of the virus itself. Hence, they could not be used for early diagnosis of the disease.
He told the press conference today that the ministry needs to be careful in acquiring the right test kit for Covid-19.
"We do not want to repeat the mistake done by Spain where they ordered 200,000 test kits but then they are not using them," he said.
According to him, earlier today, the ministry concluded their tests on a brand of RTK that came from China and decided not to purchase the product for mass use by their frontliners.
"The accuracy is not very good. The IMR has identified that brand as not suitable.
"We have to identify if a kit has high sensitivity. If it is low, then we should not use it," said Noor Hisham.
Insurance policy-holders can go to private centres
Meanwhile, Noor Hisham was also asked on the prime minister's announcement today that the insurance and takaful industry players were setting up a special fund of RM8 million for Covid-19 testing.
The fund will be used to cover Covid-19 tests costing up to RM300 for each policyholder who is ordered by the Health Ministry to conduct the test at private healthcare facilities.
To this, Noor Hisham said that with the initiative, he hoped that those who have insurance policies could now go to private centres.
"This will ease the burden of the ministry (in conducting a high number of tests)," he said.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had announced the measure as part of an enhanced economic stimulus package to deal with Covid-19 outbreak and help the people cope financially with its impact. - Mkini
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