Dr Kelvin Yii
KUCHING: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii encourages those returning from overseas to observe all precautionary measures during home quarantine despite testing negative for Covid-19 through a Rapid Test Kit (RTK).
“Limit contact with family members during home quarantine and take a second test as required on the 13th day to be extra sure there is no presence of coronavirus in the body,” advised Dr Yii in a statement.
He said a number of patients who tested negative through RTK before entering the state had tested positive after undergoing reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests after arriving here.
He stated that one case in Miri returned from Tunisia, two in Bintulu returned from Mexico and United Kingdom, and two in Sibu returned from United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.
Dr Yii urged all returning to Sarawak to be honest about their travel history so that they could be given an RT-PCR test to rule out Covid-19 infection despite testing negative via RTK in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
“It is our collective social responsibility to protect fellow Malaysians and loved ones to prevent a second wave that will have devastating effects on our economy.”
Dr Yii said RT-PCR test is the gold standard for detecting active infection of SARS-CoV-2 and hence is used to diagnose Covid-19.
“However, RTK has a quick turnaround time of minutes and RT- PCR test takes 24 to 48 hours to yield results in the lab and costs much more.”
He said false negatives from RTK tests might give false sense of security to persons-under-surveillance (PUS) and their immediate family members.
The MP further said the Ministry of Health could be more transparent on the kind of RTK being used, information on its local and international suppliers as well as the sensitivity and specificity of the test-kits.
“MOH should also reveal the volume of the antigen RTK purchased and the amount of money spent on it,” said Dr Yii.
He also questioned the number of false negatives and the total tested with Covid-19 RTK tests at KLIA since its implementation.