SARAWAK’S insistence on using the costly and more accurate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on residents returning from overseas is paying off, said Douglas Uggah Embas.

The deputy chief minister said this after a fifth Sarawakian got a positive result for Covid-19 from the PCR test upon his return to the state after the antibody rapid test kit (RTK) used at Kuala Lumpur International Airport during his transit came back negative.

Uggah said the state’s latest patient, who was returning home from Saudi Arabia, was found to be virus-free in the RTK screening on Friday.

The oil and gas engineer, who was asymptomatic, then took an AirAsia flight to Sibu the following day, after spending the night at Tune Hotel KLIA.

In line with Sarawak’s health protocols, he was taken to a hotel designated as a quarantine facility upon arrival and swabbed for the PCR test on the second day.

The patient has been admitted to Sibu Hospital.

“Just imagine what would happen if we did not screen him using the PCR test,” Uggah told a Covid-19 briefing today.

The state disaster management committee (DMC) chairman acknowledged that the test is more expensive than RTK.

“Yes, we have to pay more for the testing. And for the hotel quarantine, too.

“But the chief minister opted to take a different stand on the matter. He believes there must be a way to stop the chain of transmission.

“It might cost us a bit, but it’s saving people’s lives.”

The first Sarawakian to return a positive result from the PCR test was a Miri woman coming back from Tunisia via KLIA on June 20.

The next two patients were returning home to Bintulu from Mexico and the UK, while the fourth was headed back to Sibu from an undisclosed country.

“Now you can understand why we are firm about making it mandatory for those returning home from overseas to undergo the PCR test and be in quarantine until their test results are out,” said Uggah.

Meanwhile, the state DMC has decided that teachers from the peninsula returning to Sarawak for work need not undergo the 14-day quarantine, with the decision effective immediately. – July 8, 2020.