Ensure sufficient, affordable supply of self-test kits, MP tells govt

PETALING JAYA: An MP has urged the government to take proactive steps to ensure not just sufficient supplies of medical items, especially Covid-19 self-test kits, but also at affordable prices, in view of the Omicron wave.

Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said there must not be a sudden spike in prices, especially when demand for the items had increased following the spike in Covid-19 cases nationwide.

Yii said one of the fundamentals to shorten the surge period of Omicron was the need for quick and fast testing due to the variant’s swift pace of transmission. He said this placed importance on the shift to self-test kits.

“Such transition is important to ensure infection-detection at labs do not buckle under the strain of an unprecedented number of cases as many of these facilities are already facing a shortage of staff.

“An uncontrollable Omicron outbreak will definitely drive up hospitalisation rates and strain testing systems,” he said in a statement.

Yii said states such as Sabah had reported facing a shortage of self-test kits following stepped-up detection especially in the past few days, with 1,600 cases recorded yesterday alone.

“The government must do a general review and audit of the availability of such test kits nationwide,” he said. It should carry out a projection of the daily needs of testing.

Incentives and grants could also be granted to local companies to produce more test kits which, ideally, should be distributed to the public for free.

“Omicron has been a game-changer. It has really catalysed the shift to large-scale rapid antigen testing, and we must be ready for it or will continuously be left behind,” he said. — Free Malaysia Today