KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) has urged the government to conduct a mass COVID-19 screening in high-risk districts using the Rapid Test Kit-Antigen (RTK-Antigen) in view of the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country.
In a statement today, the PH COVID-19 Vaccination Committee said this is to enable early detection and treatment of COVID-19 positive cases, as well as prevent further transmission into the wider community.
“Only by ramping up our testing and tracing capacity significantly, we will know the number of infected people and and certain steps to isolate them can be taken,” the statement said.
The committee is chaired by former Health Minister who is Kuala Selangor member of Parliament Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
Other PH members who are part of the committee are Dr Lee Boon Chye (Gopeng), Dr Kelvin Yii (Bandar Kuching), Dr Hatta Ramli (Lumut), Sim Tze Tzin (Bayan Baru), Dr Ong Kian Ming (Bangi), Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan state executive councillors for health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, Dr Norlela Ariffin and Veerapan Supramaniam.
The country’s new COVID-19 daily tally has escalated to above 3,000 recently, with the highest number of deaths recorded on May 15 last year at 44 cases.
The Forensic Department of Sungai Buloh Hospital is also providing a special container as an additional place to keep the bodies of dead COVID-19 patients.
