GEORGE TOWN – Jelutong lawmaker R.S.N. Rayer has urged the Health Ministry to act on Charles Santiago’s proposal for Covid-19 testing costs borne by the public to be significantly lowered.
Until a vaccine that is proven safe and effective is produced, said the DAP man, widespread testing is a major recourse to the pandemic.
He said the steep price of between RM150 and RM800 per test puts people off, and the financial difficulties brought on by the virus crisis contribute to their hesitation.
Rayer said a RM50 ceiling price should be set for Covid-19 tests, as advocated by Klang MP Santiago.
As of yesterday, Malaysia has recorded 23,804 infections, including 204 deaths, with an average of 700 cases daily in recent days.
Santiago has written to the ministry, seeking a decrease in testing fees from RM150 to RM50 for residents in red zones.
Medical professionals have repeatedly called for widespread testing to better gauge the impact of the pandemic.
Santiago has reportedly said Klang residents are starting to panic as more and more localities are declared red zones.
The government has imposed the conditional movement control order in the whole of Selangor, as well as Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Sabah and Labuan.
So far, 26 districts and 46 sub-districts across the country have been named red zones.
On the spread of the virus at Penang Prison and the state’s Jawi detention centre, Rayer said public health inspectors need to trace the sources of these cases.
Kedah and Sabah, too, have seen infections behind bars, with these forming the bulk of the state’s new cases.
Meanwhile, Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abd Rahman said all other residents and staff of the Darul Hanan nursing home in Kepala Batas have tested negative for the coronavirus a second time, after eight positive cases were detected there.
“All occupants and staff were confirmed negative in the second test. However, they have not been allowed to leave because they have to undergo quarantine for two weeks as instructed,” he told The Vibes. – The Vibes, October 23, 2020
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