WITH the pandemic raging, Umno urged the Government to expand mass screening among the public so that infected individuals can be quarantined and treated fast.
“One of the important approaches to avoid the worst-case scenario, other than vaccination, is to conduct mass testing. We must increase our mass testing capacity to a radical scale.
“For that, please look into reducing the cost for the RT PCR and RTK AG testing. Currently, the cost for COVID-19 testing is too high, to a point where it stunts any effort to control this pandemic.
“No party should be allowed to profit from this disaster. Imposing a price cap on test kits would make testing affordable and accessible,” said its deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, in a Facebook post.
Last year, Bukit Gasing state assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran voiced out the same concern, saying the test kits high prices deter many from screening themselves for COVID-19.
“I strongly urge that the Government look into making RTK-AG testing available and affordable for all.
“The service fee imposed by the panel clinics should also be standardised to a fee that is acceptable by the public,” he told FocusM then.
Promote self-testing too
Mohamad Hasan said that with affordable testing, the Government can embark on a mass screening programme and treat those infected sooner before it becomes worse.
He added that in most Western countries, test kits are in abundance at an affordable price, including self-test kits. In fact, with technological advances, the accuracy of RTK AG tests have improved.
“The Government could also utilise the industry experts to produce RTK AG test kits at the cheapest price for public use. This is the time for us to use our multi-sector resources to fight this pandemic,” the Rantau state assemblyperson.
The Umno veteran urged the Government to make COVID-19 testing a norm like in Germany, where majority of the households there conduct their own testing, twice a week.
“As testing becomes a norm, schools and universities could gradually re-open. Students will be able to do their own testing every Sunday or Monday before starting school.
“This pandemic is a war that must be won by all. Abandoning testing will not help reduce the transmission of the virus,” Mohamad Hasan stressed. – June 1, 2021.
