[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA: As Sabah grapples with a growing number of Covid-19 cases, the state’s real-time testing capability for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) has been improved to 2,500 tests daily. in three laboratories.
Health Director General Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said that in the event that rRT-PCR tests exceed 2,500 in one day in Sabah, the remainder will be shipped to Peninsular Malaysia.
“As for the additional samples, the remaining tests will be sent to the Medical Research Institute using the services of the Malaysian Air Force and private courier,” he said in a press release on Wednesday (September 23).
In Sabah, the Kota Kinabalu Public Health Laboratory can perform 2,000 rRT-PCR tests per day, Queen Elizabeth Hospital can perform 400 tests, while Universiti Malaysia Sabah can analyze 100 samples daily.
Compared to March, the three labs in total only had the capacity to run 400 daily rRT-PCR tests, said Dr. Noor Hisham.
Dr Noor Hisham added that the Ministry is also using rapid antigen test kits (RTK-Ag) to detect Covid-19 in large volumes quickly.
“So far, there are 23 hospital laboratories and 26 clinical laboratories under the Ministry of Health that perform RTK-Ag tests in Sabah. Due to the increasing number of cases in Sabah, the Ministry of Health has improved the capacity of laboratories that can perform rRT-PCR tests, ”he said.
Dr. Noor Hisham added that the ministry is also establishing a molecular laboratory at Tawau Hospital as a long-term measure.
“Besides that, the ministry is also awaiting delivery of the Genexpert Covid-19 machine from the World Health Organization (WHO) to be used by Tawau Hospital, Sandakan Hospital and Lahad Datu Hospital.
“This test can detect the Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19) virus. The Genexpert machine can perform 40 tests a day ”, he added.
[ad_2]
