COVID-19: Ministry mulls mass random testing in red zone areas

KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): The Ministry of Health is looking into the possibility of conducting mass random testing for Covid-19 in red zone areas around the country.  

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham said this may help the ministry detect infections among communities with cases of Covid-19.  

"So this (mass random testing) is probably a good study that we can consider doing. This study will use the antibody test kit that can be done quickly to detect antibodies IgM (immunoglobulin M) and IgG (immunoglobulin G)," he said during his daily media briefing.   

IgM and IgG refer to the antibodies that the body produces in response to a virus. Early studies suggest the production of IgM and IgG in Covid-19 patients typically occurs between seven and 11 days after exposure, with IgM antibodies appearing first, followed by IgG antibodies. 

The presence of these antibodies indicate that a person has been exposed to the coronavirus and his immune system has reacted. 

"So all it takes is a drop of blood and we can do the test. But this is not to diagnose [the patient] but to find out how many people in the community that have been infected but not detected," Noor Hisham added.  

In order to achieve this, Noor Hisham said the ministry may need the collaboration of private clinics to help conduct the tests, so the latest data may be collected to take the necessary actions.  

University Malaya virologist Prof Dr Sazaly Abu Bakar was previously reported to have urged the government to conduct an aggressive mass testing on the public, such as those conducted in South Korea and Taiwan, saying without that, the real number of asymptomatic cases would not be known. 

He said this is important, so as to contain the number of sporadic cases, which may contribute to emerging new clusters of Covid-19 infections. 

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