{"id":5244,"date":"2021-07-20T16:21:39","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T08:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/?p=5244"},"modified":"2021-07-20T16:21:39","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T08:21:39","slug":"covid-19-self-test-kit-poised-to-be-a-game-changer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/2021\/07\/20\/covid-19-self-test-kit-poised-to-be-a-game-changer\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19 Self-Test Kit Poised To Be A Game-Changer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"adn ads\" data-message-id=\"#msg-f:1705785341671047834\" data-legacy-message-id=\"17ac2abb095f029a\">\n<div class=\"gs\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div id=\":n5\" class=\"ii gt\">\n<div id=\":n6\" class=\"a3s aiL \">\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">By Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The Covid-19 self-test kits, which are soon expected to be widely and easily available to Malaysians, will indeed be a game-changer.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">To test themselves, the public will not have to go to hospitals, clinics, and other places where they will be exposed to the risk of infection<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It will provide one less risk to get infected, and one more opportunity to stay safe in public..<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Those who are tested positive using these self-test kits can seek fast medical treatment and also be able to self-quarantine.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This will allow us to return to a semblance of normalcy faster than when such kits were not available and reliance was solely placed on the healthcare system.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0But there is some concern regarding the cost of the self-test kits.\u00a0 They are said to cost RM39.90 each. While some may question the rationale of imposing such a price, it is more important to look at its affordability.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">If in a family there are four members, they will need nearly RM160 to do their first test. And then what happens when they may have to re-test a few weeks later?<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This is a cost that the B40 and others will not be able to afford. And if they can\u2019t and don\u2019t, then the community will also be adversely affected.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Some means must be implemented to ease the burden of the financially challenged. It is both in the interest of the families and the community that self-test kits are affordable and available for the widest segment of society as possible. Perhaps some form of subsidy can be considered for the poor and low-income earners.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is encouraging that the number of vaccinations a day has breached the 400,000 mark.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Perhaps therefore it is time to relax some movement restrictions for those who have also have had their booster shots.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">They should be allowed to engage in activities like dining-in, and be free to travel inter-district and inter-State.\u00a0 This will lead to a gradual, but important, boost to the economy.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">A word of caution to those using the self-test kits: Please read and follow the instructions carefully, especially on how and where the used kits should be disposed of.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This highlights the need for the continuous flow of information and education by the authorities, and the importance of self-discipline in respect of following all SOPs and other common sense safety measures.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Another matter of rising concern is that of empty vaccine incidents.\u00a0 This is causing anxiety to millions who now doubt whether or not they have been duped in the vaccination process.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">How did this happen? Wasn\u2019t this possibility foreseen? Incidents of such nature are totally unacceptable as it will affect public confidence in the immunisation programme.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The pain the needle caused to the skin now pales before the extreme pain that comes from the thought that the syringe was empty.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">What assurance can the authorities give the public of the integrity of the Vaccination process to allay the concern of all those who have already been vaccinated.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The authorities must act fast to ensure complete transparency and integrity in the vaccination process.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0CHAIRMAN,<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0ALLIANCE FOR SAFE COMMUNITY.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yj6qo\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"adL\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hi\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ajx\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gA gt acV\">\n<div class=\"gB xu\">\n<div class=\"ip iq\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye The Covid-19 self-test kits, which are soon expected to be widely and easily available to Malaysians, will indeed be a game-changer. To test themselves, the public will not have to go to hospitals, clinics, and other places where they will be exposed to the risk of infection It will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sudut-pendapat"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5245,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5244\/revisions\/5245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesseltontimes.com\/wpmarch2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}