BUKIT Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran has offered free COVID-19 saliva test kits to any residents of Bukit Gasing who has symptoms or who has been in close contact with those who have tested positive for COVID-19.
“This is what the Health Ministry (MOH) should be doing to curb the spread of COVID-19, and I’m kickstarting this in Bukit Gasing,” Rajiv announced.
“If testing when one is in doubt is free-of-charge, many more will be willing to test, and testing prevents the spread of COVID-19.”
Each resident can collect one test kit from Kompleks Rakan Muda Petaling Jaya (Arena) for self-testing purposes. The Arena is open daily from 10am to 6pm.
According to Rajiv, the free test kit model is similar to what is being done in the UK, where anyone who wants to self-test can order a test kit from the National Health Service (NHS) app.
He added that making testing accessible and affordable to residents is an approach that the MOH has consistently failed to address, and that in Malaysia, it is not possible to go to a government clinic to get tested for COVID-19 for free.
“From the beginning, MOH has done little to ramp up testing facilities in Malaysia.
“I had sincerely hoped that under the administration of Khairy Jamaluddin, this situation would change but he has been a huge let-down.
“Limiting social and economic activities is no longer viable but constant testing is a great alternative in ensuring that we do not have to go into lockdown mode in order to stop the spread of the virus,” Rajiv remarked. – Sept 30, 2021
