PUTRAJAYA, July 23 —  Any Covid-19 self-test kit result, whether positive, negative or invalid, must be reported to the Ministry of Health (MOH) through the MySejahtera application.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said it is the consumers’ responsibility to report on the actual result, not give a false one, to avoid adverse consequences to infection prevention.

He said if the self-test kit result is positive, the user must go to a private health facility, Covid-19 assessment centre (CAC) or any Health Clinic (KK) for health assessment purposes, before their health status is uploaded to the MySejahtera application.

"If the result is negative but the person has symptoms, then he or she is also advised to report to a private clinic or KK for a similar assessment. As for an invalid result, the user is required to repeat the test,” he told a virtual joint press conference on the development of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) with Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today.

As of last Thursday, the MOH through the Medical Devices Authority (MDA) gave conditional approval to three types of Covid-19 self-test kits for sale and use in the country.

The kits are Covid-19 Salixium Antigen Rapid Test Kit produced locally by Reszon Diagnostics International Sdn Bhd; Gmate® Covid-19 made in South Korea and Beright Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test Device (Oral Fluid) produced by Hangzhou Alltest Biotech Co., Ltd.

In another development, Dr Adham said currently Malaysia is experiencing an upward trend in the transmission of Covid-19 variants of concern (VOC) especially the Beta and Delta variants.

He said as of yesterday 378 infections detected were of the Beta and Delta variants while 14 Aplha variant cases were reported.

"The infection detected through SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing is seen as worrying because the Delta variant has a higher rate of infection and is more deadly compared to the Beta and Aplha variants.

"The latest scientific evidence also shows that the viral load of individuals infected with the Delta variant is 1,000 times higher than those infected with the other variants,” he said. — Bernama