Let COVID-19 test results come within 24 hours, helps mitigate risks

THE Government should shorten the waiting period of COVID-19 swab tests, from the current 72 hours to 24 hours to contain the spread of the pandemic.

“My team conducted a survey and found out that it takes nearly three days for one to get their swab test results, which is dangerous.

“The authorities should think about the implications caused by long waiting period. After getting tested, these people go to work and mingle with others as there is no requirement for them to isolate themselves.

“This could be another reason why COVID-19 infection is getting worse now,” UNI-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) president Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal told FocusM.

Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal

The veteran unionist urged the Health Ministry and the National Security Council (NSC) to address the matter soon as daily infection cases are getting worse by the day.

He believed that the delay in delivering test results could be attributed to the fact that several health facility stockpiling reports to a certain quantum, before being sent to the labs for testing.

Offering solutions, Shafie urged the Government to decentralise COVID-19 testing instead of relying on public health facilities alone to conduct it.

“For example, if the individual gets tested at a health facility in Rembau, let the said premises deliver the results.

“If the person gets tested in Rembau but the report has to be sent to Seremban or wherever else, this will complicate things and cause delay in getting the results sooner to quarantine the infected individual,” he opined.

On related matter, Shafie urged the Government to throw the book on employers who force their staff to attend office, despite the premises being exposed to COVID-19.

“The standard operating procedure (SOP) is very clear on that. The authorities should conduct random checks on these premises to ensure strict compliance to the law,” he stressed.

Shafie also criticised certain private sector employers for putting profits before people’s lives, adding the irresponsible act only aggravates the pandemic crisis further.

“This is where the authorities should step in as employees can’t go against their employers at times. So, the Government must deploy their enforcement officers and check these premises regularly for compliance,” he remarked. – May 30, 2021.

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