LETTER | A total of 482 clinics are registered with the Covid-19 RTK-AG (Antigen) screening programme under the Social Security Organisation (Socso). The participating clinics are located in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Labuan and Sabah, with more clinics in other states to be added into the list soon.

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) welcomes this public-private healthcare initiative to screen the country’s foreign worker population and looks forward to more ways of working together in the future.

We wish to thank the government for its move to provide the point of care RTK Antigen test kits to the clinics, free of charge through Socso, and urge all general practitioners (GPs) to charge reasonably for their professional services in conducting the swab tests.

Employers can now visit the www.psp.perkeso.gov.my website to access the list of participating clinics and book appointments with the GPs for the mandatory Covid-19 screening of foreign workers. The first phase of the screening programme involving 888,342 foreign workers will be carried out in Selangor, Labuan, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Negeri Sembilan.

We advise all employers to refer to the participating clinics listed on the Socso website to ensure that the swab tests are performed by clinics registered under the Socso Covid-19 screening programme.

The RTK-AG swab tests can only be performed by trained healthcare professionals and under the strict infectious disease prevention guidelines of the Ministry of Health. MMA warns that a person may be at serious risk of injury, health issues or a false negative result if the swab tests are performed incorrectly.

All GP clinics must also conduct a pre-assessment and keep medical records of the patients who are being screened for Covid-19. Each patient that has undergone the RTK Antigen swab test must be registered under Sistem Maklumat Kesihatan Awam, where certificates are generated and given to the patient with stringent Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) maintained throughout the process.

We also advise all employers to work with the registered clinics to plan the screening of their foreign workers. For businesses with a large foreign workforce, it will be more practical to conduct the screening on-site.

Smaller businesses located in the same area may also combine to have the tests conducted together at a designated area near their workplaces. Employers may also need to work with the municipal authorities on permission to use common public areas.

PROFESSOR DR SUBRAMANIAM MUNIANDY is the president of the Malaysian Medical Association.

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