Andrew Lo
KUCHING (Aug 16): Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak secretary Andrew Lo has questioned the effectiveness of enforcement and monitoring of self-testing kit results for company employees undergoing the RTK Antigen tests.
This follows the announcement by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Miti) yesterday that company employees are required to undergo biweekly RTK Antigen tests approved by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and that it can be undertaken via self-testing methods or at health facilities.
Lo deemed this announcement as a ‘poorly thought-out plan’, adding that the employees may not report positive results or the records of the tests may be compromised.
“This measure does not add any value to the Covid-19 management and may lead to a false sense of security. Employees with a negative result may relax adherence to the standard operating procedures (SOPs),” he said in a statement yesterday.
Lo said that this will only benefit the companies that are selling the test kits.
In a statement earlier yesterday, Miti said that this move was done in addition to the existing SOP as a proactive measure to curb the spread of the virus among workers.
The ministry added that current measures such as physical distancing and the use of face masks are still applicable and mandatory for companies.
“The government would like to remind companies to follow the SOPs, and legal action, including compounding or suspension of company operations may be taken against them for non-compliance,” Miti said.