Malaysians self-test before meeting others

Before joining a gathering, engineer Shahid Ahmad would make it a point to take a Covid-19 antigen rapid self-test at home to make sure he is virus-free.

"It has also become my family's habit to do this before hosting a gathering. In fact, if some fail to share their test results, they won't be allowed to join because both our parents have comorbidities, so it's important to us," the 25-year-old told The Straits Times.

Comorbidities refer to two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.

Madam Catrina Lim Pei Yee also believes that regular self-testing for Covid-19 is important.

"I'm a housewife and I had spent a year plus being cooped up in my house, so you can imagine how happy I am now that we're allowed to gather. But the fear is there, which is why my friends and I make sure to test ourselves first before hanging out together," the 37-year-old told ST.

"It's a great social responsibility exercise because once, one of our friends tested positive before we were supposed to meet and she showed no symptoms. I can't imagine if we had just met up without checking. This is why I feel it's very important to test ourselves as often as we can, especially if we can afford it," she said.

Mr Shahid and Madam Lim are among a growing group of Malaysians who are self-testing before attending get-togethers, as the country prepares for an "endemic" phase, where people live with the virus and exercise self-responsibility.

To encourage regular self-testing, the government has gradually reduced the prices of test kits to make them more affordable.

The kits are available for as low as RM6.90 (S$2.25) each and are sold at supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations across Malaysia. As at Oct 28, a total of 2,570 business premises had been approved to sell the kits.

Previously, the kits were sold at selected clinics and pharmacies, and with a ceiling price of RM39.90. The government later fixed the maximum retail price at RM19.90 per unit and the wholesale price at RM16 a unit effective Sept 5. The retail price was further reduced to RM6.90 from Nov 1.

In Singapore, the prices of the self-test kits range between $8 and $13 each, with a lower price per kit for larger packs.

Mr Shahid said: "I couldn't afford to test myself as often as I wanted to before as a kit was quite expensive. But since it's now more affordable, there's no reason why I shouldn't self-test. I even buy them in bulk now."

He added: "It's my responsibility as a son, a brother and a Malaysian. The last thing I want is to unknowingly be a carrier or spreader."

This trend of self-testing regularly is also being driven by the emergence of the Delta Plus variant, which is reportedly 10 per cent to 15 per cent more transmissible than the Delta variant. Malaysia on Nov 6 announced that it had detected its first two cases of the Delta Plus variant.

Yesterday, it reported 6,243 new Covid-19 cases.

Pharmacist Low Aik Meng said there has been a steady increase in customers buying test kits in bulk since the new retail price was announced on Nov 1.

"When the home test kits were first introduced in July, the response was good but not many would buy so many because it was quite expensive. But since the announcement, a customer would grab five or 10 at one go," Mr Low told ST.

"We can easily sell hundreds a day. Our sales for the kits have gone up by 100 per cent to 150 per cent. We're also seeing a lot of good Samaritans and volunteers buying a lot to share with the needy."