Demand for Covid-19 testing surges as new cases spike

 

Since the third wave of the pandemic hit Malaysia in October last year, more people are willing to get tested even though they are asymptomatic or a close contact of a Covid-19 patient.

Is Malaysia’s testing capacity currently enough to cater to the increasing demand, with four-digit cases recorded daily over the last few months, and in case of a worst-case scenario?

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said the national laboratory capacity for both public and private laboratories is currently at 70,000 tests per day.

This means, if more than 70,000 tests are done in a day, the turnaround time is going to be delayed, he said.

"We should prioritise testing for high-risk groups and test certain communities for surveillance.

"Hence we should start focusing on rapid antigen tests which are fast and more cost-effective for rapid and mass screening," he told Bernama when contacted.

Subramaniam added that although the Health Ministry (MOH) said it will not screen all close contacts but only those who are symptomatic, MMA feels that the ministry should revert to its earlier policy.

"(The ministry should revert to) its earlier policy of tracing as many close contacts and test all of them to ensure we stop any potential spread of Covid-19 infections in the community.

"If the government's resources are stretched, it should engage the 7,000 MOH trained general practitioners (GPs) to assist them," he said.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in his press conference yesterday that the MOH was expected to increase the capacity of Covid-19 laboratories that can conduct the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests, to between 100,000 and 150,000 tests per day.

“So far, we have 68 laboratories that carry out 70,000 RT-PCR tests per day and the capacity of these laboratories will be enhanced. We will also increase Covid-19 screening by using the Antigen Rapid Test Kit (RTK-Ag),” he said.

Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Subramaniam Muniandy

Noor Hisham added that Malaysia’s RT-PCR testing capacity across 68 labs on Jan 20 was 76,255 tests, but only 47,820 tests were conducted, or 63 per cent of the testing capacity.

Apart from government-owned medical centres, there are now over 1,000 private premises throughout Malaysia offering RT-PCR or RTK swab tests.

According to covid-19.moh.gov.my, until yesterday, a total of 132 licensed private hospitals nationwide were allowed to conduct Covid-19 screening within their premises.

741 private medical clinics were registered to conduct Covid-19 screening on-site and outreach, while 816 clinics were allowed to do so within their premises only.

A total of 13 private ambulatory care centres were also allowed to carry out screening tests within their premises, including the Mahameru International Medical Centre Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur, Sievert Imaging Centre in Sandakan, Sabah, Anda Diagnostic Centre in Penang, and Sunway Specialist Centre in Damansara, Selangor.

On fees, government hospitals are charging RM150 for Malaysians and RM250 for foreigners for RT-PCR, and RM60 (Malaysians) or RM120 (foreigners) for RTK Antigen tests.

However, for government servants returning to Malaysia after performing official duties, Malaysians and foreigners who are suspected Covid-19 positive, and residents at enhanced movement control order (MCO) areas are among groups that have been exempted from paying for their Covid-19 tests.

For private premises, fees vary. At the Subang Jaya Medical Centre, which accepts walk-ins, an RT-PCR test is RM295. Selected KPJ private hospitals, which accept walk-ins and drive-through, charge RM299 to RM388 for an RT-PCR test.

The Pantai Hospital in Ampang charges RM180 per pax for RTK Antigen and RM250 for RT-PCR. Pantai Hospital Cheras charges RM260 for RT-PCR. Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur charges RM480 for RT-PCR.

BP Diagnostic is charging RM240 for an RT-PCR test at its branches in Taiping, Perak; George Town, Penang; Alor Setar, Kedah; Bahau, Negeri Sembilan; Cheras, Kuala Lumpur; Taman SEA, Selangor; Muar, Johor; Kuching, Sarawak; Kota Kinabalu, Sabah; and Malacca.

- Bernama