THE first batch of Covid-19 antigen rapid test kits will be deployed to Sabah and Sarawak, said Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the kits would be of better use there due to the size and the distances in the two states, which make it difficult to transport samples.

“They will be used for Sabah and Sarawak because it’s easier to use, (to get) quicker results, and can be used at the point-of-care.

“From the point of logistics and size of Sabah and Sarawak, the rapid test kits are more suitable there,” he said at his daily Covid-19 briefing in Putrajaya today.

Rapid tests kits will also be made available at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. 

“We will also have two bio-safety cabinets at KLIA for transit passengers so that they can do the tests there.”

Malaysia primarily relies on the real-time polyerase chain reaction test to confirm Covid-19 diagnoses, which are the gold standard but are time-consuming to run and require a sample from a nasal swab. 

The antigen rapid test kits will allow faster results without the need for extensive lab equipment.

Dr Noor Hisham said the first batch of 50,000 kits will arrive on Friday with another 100,000 due on Saturday.

The health director-general was responding to a question on whether the Health Ministry plans to step up detection in Kota Samarahan, currently a Covid-19 red zone in Sarawak.

“This is about the Sarawak church cluster, and like the tabligh cluster, can be infectious.

“We have identified two housing areas which have a thousand or more people and we need to step up the detection process. – April 29, 2020.