S Korean, Chinese kits arrive as M'sia prepares for mass testing

CORONAVIRUS | The first batch of Covid-19 test kits from South Korea has arrived in Malaysia and is being evaluated by the Health Ministry.

If found to be effective, ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 200,000 more units would be purchased.

“The test kits from South Korea arrived late last night. Our team is still evaluating the test kits at the Sungai Buloh Hospital [...]

“If the accuracy is good, then probably we are ready to order 200,000 (units),” he told a press conference in the ministry’s Putrajaya headquarters this evening.

Pressed on cost, he admitted he was unsure but estimated them to be between US$5 to US$6 (RM21.64 - RM25.97) per unit.

Based on today’s exchange rate, 200,000 of such kits would cost RM5.194 million. 

Hisham also shared that the ministry was evaluating 100,000 US Food and Drug Administration-approved test kits that were made in China.

“This afternoon we also received 100,000 test kits from China, (they are a) different brand from the ones we tested much earlier.

“We will also try to test the new test kit from China [...],” he said.

Malaysia is ramping up its Covid-19 mass testing capabilities after the initiative proved effective in South Korea’s strategy to slow down the spread of the virus.

Malaysia aims to be able to conduct 16,500 tests a day, up from the present daily capacity of 7,000 tests.

Mass testing allows medical workers to detect infections faster, isolate patients sooner and prevent further spread of the virus to others.

This helps flatten the growth curve of new cases because it helps arrest any uncontrolled exponential rise in infections.

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