Kuching MP: Low testing rate is painting false picture

 

Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has cautioned the government on the current low testing rate nationwide which will set the country up for new surges of Covid-19 cases and defeat the purpose of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yasin’s National Recovery Plan (NRP).

He said the low Covid-19 cases recorded yesterday are giving a false sense of security to people as the reality shows fewer testing is being undertaken nationwide even as a higher positivity rate is recorded.

Records show the number of Covid-19 tests done in the country has dropped substantially from 126,480 on May 29 to 58,384 yesterday.

“The fact of the matter is, the average positive rate for the past week from June 15 to 21 is at a high rate of 7.1 percent.

“This means our daily figures are under-reported and the situation is much more severe than it is reported,” Yii claimed in a statement today.

The DAP man also voiced his concerns over the rise of sporadic cases detected in the country and possible outbreaks of different Covid-19 variants that may be more infectious and deadly.

“There is no other way to detect these sporadic cases more effectively than to change the current policy of testing from just testing symptomatic and close contacts, to mass testing in every district, zones and then repeating it again in zones with a high prevalence of positive cases,” Yii said.

He cited other countries like the UK which has done up to one million Covid-19 tests a day for its residents and recorded an average positive rate of 0.8 percent.

“So, with that, instead of focusing on reducing the nationwide cases or even absolute total numbers, the government can now follow WHO recommendations to have a Positive Rate of 5 percent and below for two weeks before it considers reopening the economy.

“They then can do targeted openings based on local and district data rather than a blanket lockdown ban which has significant economic cost,” he added.

Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii

Yii also drew attention to testing prices set by the private sector, asking the government to control the prices of testing services in addition to the current price cap on testing kits.

“The current decision by the government to cap the price of the testing kit itself only is insufficient as it does not include services rendered by the private sector, which are not controlled,” he said.

Urging the government to learn from the past and not waste the current lockdown period, he said testing must be the number one priority alongside vaccination, at all cost.

Yii said there are six states in the peninsula which had managed to maintain a positivity rate of below five percent over the past two weeks, in line with the WHO’s threshold to reopen the economy.

“With those statistics, on top of other health parameters including ICU capacity, infective rate, vaccination rate, and proper exit strategy SOPs, they (the government) can make the necessary decisions based on science and data.

“The reopening of the economy must be science-based and realistic in its target,” he said. - Mkini