MIRI: A molecular lab at Miri Hospital that was completed last April 8 was given approval on April 24 using Real Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) method to detect Covid-19.
The lab conducted a validation process under the supervision of the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) Malaysia before it was allowed to operate and approved.
A statement issued by the hospital yesterday revealed that five staff members have been trained to operate the lab.
With the facility, the hospital expects to get Covid-19 test results faster as there is no need to send test samples to Kuching.
“Test results can be obtained within 48 hours after the sample is taken. In just three days of operation, from April 24 to 26, 140 swabs were successfully screened,” said the statement.
The hospital also mentioned that the service was available to residents of Limbang and Bintulu.
“Currently, the tests are only for persons under surveillance (PUS) and persons under investigation (PUI) who have been screened.
“The hospital is working to improve its ability to process up to 134 samples daily by taking into account existing work force and reagent stocks,” the statement continued.
The hospital thanked the donors who helped to realise the molecular lab, namely, the Samling Group of Companies, contractors, Institute of Medical Research Malaysia, and Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) which coordinated the donations.
