TWO laboratories in Sarawak that are certified by the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) aim to increase the state’s Covid-19 testing capacity four-fold by this weekend, Housing and Local Government Minister Dr Sim Hui Kian said.

The laboratories, at the Sarawak general hospital and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, will be able to test up to 1,000 samples a day from the current 250.

This will be possible when the state’s order of reagents arrive.

Reagents are needed for the polymerase chain reaction tests to detect the coronavirus and a shortage has hampered Sarawak’s ability to do more tests, Lim told the media in Kuching.

Sarawak is also helping the federal government purchase RM1.5 million worth of reagents as a spike in the number of infections is anticipated, he said.

On the possibility of extending the two-week movement control order which is to end on March 31, Sim said it was still too early to tell.

“The incubation period (of the virus) is 14 days. There might be some patients who have yet to show any symptoms of the virus,” he said.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday the federal government will decide whether to lift or extend the order when the National Security Council meets on March 31.

Sarawak has a total of 82 Covid-19 infections to date. Five people have died since the first death was reported in the state on March 17,  including three members of a family in Kuching. – March 24, 2020.