KUCHING, Aug 6 ― The federal government, through the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, must immediately look into subsidising and controlling the price of the Covid-19 self-test kit to make it affordable and accessible to the mass public, said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
According to him, the current retail price of RM39.90 per test kit is not affordable to those from the B40 (low-income) and even M40 (middle-income) categories, especially if there were many family members that needed to be screened frequently.
“This also can enable testing at the ‘point of interaction’; for example, a factory floor or office, and even allow self-administered home-testing, as how it is now possible in several countries.
“This is an important arm for a systematic and comprehensive ‘Fine, Test, Trace, Isolate and Support and now with Vaccine’ (FTTIS+V) National Testing Strategy, which is needed in our country amidst the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dr Yii said an area that the government could look at would be to properly regulate such test kits to ensure its effectiveness and accelerate approvals of those that met the necessary requirements.
“This would encourage competition in the market, which should drive down the price once ordered in bulk, especially when the demand increases as the government cultivate a culture of testing throughout the community.
“From there, the government could look at subsidising it to make it (price) go even below RM10 and make it affordable and accessible to all.
“The government should also look at incorporating this into the Healthcare Protection Scheme for the B40 (PekaB40) initiative so that such testing are also covered especially for the B40 group.
“This is the ‘new normal’ that we need to transition into, and the government must provide a conducive environment for that to happen,” he said.
According to Dr Yii, the wide use of such testing kits can also help lower risk of workplace or economic clusters without the need for constantly closing down or imposing lockdowns that would come at a huge economic cost.
“Each industry could set the requirements for weekly testing to reduce outbreaks in their settings as those tested positive could be immediately isolated, treated and given all the necessary support,” he added. ― Borneo Post
