Health DG clarifies MOH's Covid-19 tests are free, regardless of nationality
CORONAVIRUS | Covid-19 testing by Health Ministry operated facilities are free, even for foreigners, the ministry's director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah clarified today.
He was asked to clarify the matter, as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told a press conference earlier today that regular fees still apply to foreigners who come forward to get tested for the virus, which so far has taken the lives of 14 people in the country.
Noor Hisham said normal fees for foreigners only apply for services not related to Covid-19.
"If foreigners come to any MOH clinic...
CORONAVIRUS | Covid-19 testing by Health Ministry operated facilities are free, even for foreigners, the ministry's director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah clarified today.
He was asked to clarify the matter, as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told a press conference earlier today that regular fees still apply to foreigners who come forward to get tested for the virus, which so far has taken the lives of 14 people in the country.
Noor Hisham said normal fees for foreigners only apply for services not related to Covid-19.
"If foreigners come to any MOH clinic or hospital to test for non-Covid-19 diseases, they will be charged according to the fees that have been set by the government.
"However, for Covid-19, no fee is charged as per (the ministry's) circular on Jan 29.
"It doesn't matter whether the foreigner is rich or poor, they won't be charged," he said during a press conference on Covid-19 in Putrajaya today.
There are fears that the fee might discourage some foreigners, especially migrant workers, from getting tested for Covid-19.
Those who are potentially infected but do not seek treatment will increase the risk of further spreading the disease.
All tabligh participants to be tested regardless of symptoms
Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said the ministry has decided to perform Covid-19 tests on all participants of the Sri Petaling Mosque tabligh gathering, regardless of their symptoms.
The decision was reached considering that the cluster made the largest number of those tested positive for the virus in the country, and deaths.
"Initially, we followed the World Health Organisation (WHO) procedures, where only those showing symptoms would be tested (for Covid-19).
"But today we have agreed to perform tests (on the tabligh participants) even if they do not show any symptoms," he said.
According to Noor Hisham, the authority has detected new clusters of Covid-19 infection, which are indirectly related to the tabligh cluster.
He said these clusters include a wedding ceremony and surau that had been attended by tabligh members who went for the gathering.
Noor Hisham said so far, some 13,000 participants of the gathering have come forward to get themselves screened, with 6,700 of them tested for the virus.
Of those tested, a total of 940 of them were found positive.
He said this made the cluster the largest, with 62 percent from the total 1,518 tested positive as of today.
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