A Home Kit To Test For COVID-19 That Costs RM99 Will Soon Be Available In Malaysia
Better yet, you’ll get results in just 30 minutes.
By May Vin Ang — 17 Mar 2020, 12:29 PM
MyEG will soon be releasing a COVID-19 rapid test kit that can be used in the comfort of our own homes and without the help of medical professionals
According to MyEG, the COVID-19 kit they are providing is developed by a leading diagnostics company and approved by health authorities in China, where it is currently being widely used.
The test kit is designed to rapidly detect COVID-19 antibodies which are produced in the body within three to seven days of infection, and results can be obtained in as little as 30 minutes.
The innovative kit involves test strips that will detect COVID-19 antibodies through blood samples obtained from finger-pricking
Similar to a pregnancy test kit, lines will appear on the strip to indicate if the sample is positive or negative for virus antibodies.
As a comparison, these blood test kits will produce quicker results on-site than the home screening services that cost about RM700 and involve nose or throat swabs being sent to external diagnostic laboratories to be processed for up to 24 hours.
However, antibodies are often not detectable until a few days after exposure to the virus, whereas the conventional laboratory method can detect virus RNA well earlier in throat samples.
MyEG said the kit's advantages are well-suited for the rapid screening of suspected cases and high risk groups, especially of visitors entering the country.
MyEG is currently awaiting approval by local authorities for the use of the kits
However, they have already begun accepting pre-orders on its online portal in Malaysia.
The test kits are priced at RM99 per kit or RM990 for a pack of 10 kits, and they say delivery will take about two weeks once approved.
A user manual and a visual guide are already available on the website.
This will be a good home-based screening alternative as government hospitals are currently being overwhelmed:
