The Ministry of Health has revealed plans to set up 5 additional labs to increase Malaysia’s COVID-19 testing capacity. The new labs would increase our daily testing capacity from 11,500 to 16,000.
According to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the new labs are located in Bintulu and Miri in Sarawak, Tawau and Sandakan in Sabah as well as Kluang in Johor. This will bring the total number of testing labs to 48.
Apart from adding more labs, the Ministry of Health is also optimising its existing testing resources. He shared that the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test requires at least 6 hours and it could take as long as 24 – 48 hours when there are more cases.
For diagnosis of COVID-19, the ministry will still use the PCR test. However, on the 13th day, an antibody serology test will be conducted instead of taking PCR. If the antibody serology test is positive, then they will retest again using PCR.
He added that serology tests are faster and it can be used by the bedside without having to send to the labs. If a patient has the antibody, it is a sign that there’s an infection.
As of today, there are 4,987 confirmed cases in Malaysia with 82 deaths reported so far. There are 170 new cases today while 202 cases have recovered and discharged. 60 patients are currently in ICU with 33 requiring respiratory support.
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