KUALA LUMPUR – Kajang has recorded a Covid-19 positive rate of over 8%, following targeted screening in Hulu Langat district conducted by the Selangor government recently.
According to Selangor Covid-19 Taskforce head Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, targeted screenings in eight state constituencies showed Kajang recording a positive rate of more than 8%, while the rest are below the 5% benchmark.
“In total, 8,585 individuals were tested for Covid-19 using the antigen rapid test kit (RTK-Ag) throughout Hulu Langat, with 8,197 of them found negative and 388 possibly positive,” he tweeted in response to Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s assessment that 80% of coronavirus cases in the country are sporadic in nature.
Agreeing with Dr Noor Hisham’s assessment, Dr Dzulkefly, who is former health minister, called on the government to intensify and speed up community screening using RTK-Ag to find, test, trace, isolate and support individuals.
“We (will be able to) outpace the rate of transmission by (ensuring those who are positive) do not roam around or infect others.”
The community screening results released for Hulu Langat include the state constituencies of Kajang, Semenyih, Sg Ramal, Balakong, Teratai, Dusun Tua, Pandan Indah and Lembah Jaya. The screenings were held between May 8 and yesterday.
The initiative, involving voluntary and non-compulsory swab tests, is being conducted by the state government to weed out Covid-19 cases in the community.
The screenings are organised by Selcare, the administrator of the state government’s Skim Peduli Sihat healthcare programme, with a team of 40 doctors, nurses and non-clinical staff.
It was reported that Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said screenings will be carried out in all of Selangor’s 56 state constituencies.
The 20-day exercise, which kicked off last Saturday, is scheduled for completion by May 28.
Results of the screenings done in Hulu Langat can be viewed here. – The Vibes, May 12, 2021