KUCHING: Sarawak is looking towards medical experts to come up with guidelines on Covid-19 self-testing.
Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) advisor Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian told New Sarawak Tribune via WhatsApp that SDMC is working out the details.
Early on, in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 7), he said Sarawak may need to do quick Antigen Rapid Test (RTK-Ag) self-tests weekly like Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK).
“This is (needed) for the state to reopen the business sector in a safer and more sustainable manner,” he said.
Dr Sim added that Sarawak is the first state in Malaysia to experience Covid-19 outbreaks in the post-vaccination era due to the emergence of the Delta variant.
“Sarawak was able to come through the previous waves. This is because we were able to come together in the spirit of solidarity and were able to stay focused, united, and supportive of each other.
“We will come out stronger from this current wave together as we did in the past.
Having said that, he said Sarawak has the highest vaccination rate in Malaysia because of the high prioritisation of vaccination in June under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).
On the Covid-19 deaths reported on Sunday with 15 deaths and Monday (Sept 6) with 12 deaths, Dr Sim said he was told that more than 50 percent from that number had completed both vaccine doses but had multiple comorbidities.
“Those who were brought-in-dead (BID) were reported late due to waiting for the pathologist to find the cause of death.
“Therefore, it is important to come to the hospital early if there are symptoms so that you can be monitored,” he said.
