KUCHING, Sept 23: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii urges the government to provide subsidies for the purchase of Covid-19 self-testing kits.
He proposed that the government implements a “cash-back” or rebate system by subsiding the said purchases to incentivise those who do not have smartphones or the MySejahtera app especially those living in rural areas to do self-testing for Covid-19.
“In order to get a better view of disease burden in our country and also to capture all data especially of total tests done including self-test kits, the government must find ways to incentivise and encourage people to report in their results.
“It is so important that the government come up with a comprehensive National Testing Strategy, find ways to subsidise test kits, find ways to incentivise people to report and also come up with a clear and specific advisory for people who test positive so that they know what to do next.
“This is fundamental if we want to transition safely and sustainably into endemic Covid-19 and its implementation should not be delayed any further,” he said in a statement today.
Dr Yii pointed out that among the issues the government must look at is to find ways to incentivise the public to report the results of their self-test kits on MySejahtera, even when the results are negative.
He noted those who reported negative results did not report the information and thus the government was not able to capture the total number of tests conducted nationwide which affects the nation’s positivity rate.
As the government is opening up more tourism spots as travel bubbles, Dr Yii reiterated that his proposal for a National Testing Strategy is even more pertinent.
He pointed out that a National Testing Strategy covers all aspects of business, socio-economic welfare, social events and education institutions.
“Its impact and importance covers all aspects of our socio-economic activities and thus is fundamental especially when the government is reducing more and more of the restrictions.
“We cannot just rely on vaccination as a reason to open up more restrictions (sic) without strengthening other public health fundamentals,” he stressed. — DayakDaily
