GEORGE TOWN – The mass testing of foreign workers here has hit another snag after the “Penang Safe” initiative cannot fulfil certain Health Ministry requirements on the RT-PCR nasal swab test for Covid-19.
Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) northern chapter chairman Datuk Jimmy Ong said the initiative cannot move forward as it does not have ministry approval, and nasal swab tests must be overseen by approved clinics.
Initially, he said, FMM proposed for the pooling method to be used as it is cheaper than single swab tests. The method involves mixing several samples together in a batch. This approach increases the number of individuals that can be tested using the same amount of resources.
“Now, we are looking into proposing for Penang Safe to carry out deep-throat saliva testing, which does not require the presence of medical officers.
“We hope to come up with an affordable system for employers.”
The Penang Safe initiative is the brainchild of FMM and a group of volunteer doctors working in both the public and private sectors.
It aims to carry out Covid-19 testing in manufacturing and construction industries, where a high number of foreign workers is hired. It will also look into community screening and a “vaccine passport” programme after the inoculations are done.
Penang has logged 1,212 cases for the first nine days of this month.
A new Medan Bayan Lepas cluster was reported yesterday – a result of a targeted screening of workers in a factory in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.
So far, 65 out of 428 individuals in the cluster have tested positive. – The Vibes, March 10, 2021
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