MP urges govt to educate public on Covid-19 self-test kits
In the shift from a pandemic to an endemic state, there also lies the need for the government to push for the public to consciously monitor their health instead of only focusing on vaccination rates, according to Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh.
This includes pushing the public to exercise regular self-testing for Covid-19.
Yeoh said in a statement that the government...
In the shift from a pandemic to an endemic state, there also lies the need for the government to push for the public to consciously monitor their health instead of only focusing on vaccination rates, according to Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh.
This includes pushing the public to exercise regular self-testing for Covid-19.
Yeoh said in a statement that the government needed to educate the public on how to use the RTK test kits.
She cited her visit to five morning markets in the Segambut constituency — Taman Bukit Maluri, Taman Sri Segambut, Taman Kok Doh, Taman Bamboo, Taman Segambut — where she noticed a lack of knowledge among traders in using RTK test kits.
“Many of them (market traders) looked at the box, perplexed, examining it in an unfamiliar way,” she said.
Yeoh said the government should mobilise multimedia resources while the National Security Council (NSC) should broadcast messages to display the correct use of the self-test kits.
“Relying solely on instruction manuals that come with the test kits would not be sufficient, particularly senior citizens who are not able to access or read the manuals for various reasons.
“Videos with specific instructions in multiple languages need to be shown to the public,” she said.
Reduce price further
She also called for further reduction of the price of self-test kits, attributing the traders’ confusion to the high selling price of the kits.
“The use of RTK test kits is still irregular among the people. This is mainly due to the high selling price of RTK test kits in the market despite being capped at RM19.90 per kit by the Health Ministry.
“The sum of RM19.90 can buy a struggling family two trays of eggs that can feed them for days,” she said.
She added that RM40 is spent per week on each MP during Parliament sittings to ensure there is effective monitoring for the Covid-19 situation.
“How many families can afford to spend RM40 a week for one family member alone?
“As such, increasing affordability and accessibility of RTK test kits are of utmost importance.
“Bring down the price to ensure the struggling families do not need to decide between buying a meal or doing a self-test,” she said.
