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would be reduced further to 12 hours . However, the logistic issue
remained an obstacle for samples taken in localities that distance away
from the nearest laboratories.

7.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of COVID-19 Rapid Test Kit for Antigen

MOH Malaysia had started using the COVID-19 RTK- Ag test since 6th May
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2020 . The RTK-Ag allowed a large number of tests to be performed in a
short span of time, rapidly detecting COVID-19 infection. Therefore, its use
has been indicated in situations such as:
a. Screening of travellers returning at the International ports of entry,
especially those receiving high numbers of travellers such as Kuala
Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)
b. Pre-surgical or pre-procedural screening for emergency and semi-
emergency cases in hospitals
c. Screening for Brought-in-Dead (BID) cases suspected of having COVID-
19 infection
d. Screening of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) cases at MOH health
clinics
e. Expansion of screening for identified target groups, including areas
placed under TEMCO
As of 15th July 2020, 197 out of a total of 88,048 RTK-Ag tests performed
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were positive for COVID-19 (a positivity rate of 0.2%) . Of this total, 25,038
were screening tests done at all international ports of entry (including KLIA,
KLIA 2, Johor, Kedah, and Penang International Airports), with an average
of 357 screenings daily
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Before the RTK-Ag test was allowed as a COVID-19 screening test, it had
gone through and passed a technical evaluation by the IMR. The repeated
technical evaluations conducted on the latest supply showed its sensitivity
increased from 84.4% to 90%, while its specificity remained at 100% . Apart
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from that, its ability to be done in large numbers, detecting infections in a
short span of time, allowing its use as a COVID-19 screening test in Sabah,
when Sabah was at the pinnacle of its infections. However, one of the
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disadvantages of the RTK-Ag test was its sensitivity of 90% , indicating that
about 10 out of 100 people screened might have false-negative results. The
most likely explanation behind this false negativity might be because the
virus in these individuals was in the incubation period, causing a very low
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viral load which was not detectable using the RTK-Ag test .

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