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GEORGE TOWN: Penang has introduced a Covid-19 initiative that will only cost one person around RM60 to be screened. However, they must first form groups of 200.
State Executive Councilor Jagdeep Singh Deo said that in the group of 200, groups of five people would be tested at any point through an RT-PCR test. They will get their results the next day.
He said that once one person in a group of five tests positive, all five will be tested again. All positive cases will be referred to government hospitals for treatment.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration, a combined Covid-19 sampling allows more people to be tested using a single reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.
Jagdeep said that this joint testing system is being used in India, Singapore and Australia, promising a faster turnaround time and reducing the burden on government hospitals and clinics.
He said this would be carried out within the framework of the “SAFE” initiative so that more screening tests can be carried out and those infected can be isolated and treated.
“The main objective of this program is to enable Penangites to be tested for Covid-19 in an affordable, accessible and rapid way, through an RT-PCR test,” he told reporters at Komtar today.
Jagdeep said the SAFE initiative was proposed in cooperation with the Penang branch of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and the Info Kinetics Sdn Bhd clinical research center.
Penang FMM chief Jimmy Ong said the SAFE plan was perfect for mass inspection of factory workers to meet government requirements.
Those interested can visit penangsafe.com or WhatsApp 017-22-2818.
