By Zareef Muzammil
AMPANG, May 12 — The community need to reject the notion that only individuals with symptoms need to undergo screening to detect Covid-19 infection, says Selcare Clinic manager Mohd Noor Md Nasir.
He explained the notion was less than accurate as 80 per cent of cases from previous screenings detected patients who do not show symptoms.
“Such perception is not accurate and we ask everyone to have an awareness on the screening so that they can know their health status if they are carriers or not.
“The purpose of this screening is to ensure that all levels of society can participate and not necessarily for those who have symptoms only,” he said at the free Covid-19 community screening at the MPAJ Hall in Pandan Indah here yesterday.
Mohd Noor explained that the risk of spreading the virus in the community increases if asymptomatic individuals moved freely without knowing their health status.
“This is quite worrying, especially when the economic sector opens, as these asymptomatic individuals will move freely and commute to work.
“So the risk of them infecting their work colleagues and the community is very high as the individual does not know that he or she is a silent carrier,” he added.
The Selangor government is actively conducting the Covid-19 surveillance program through free screening in all 56 state constituencies from May 8 to June 10.
The programme had begun with the free screenings in Kajang and Semenyih on May 8, Sungai Ramal and Balakong (May 9), Teratai and Dusun Tua (May 10), and yesterday it was held at Lembah Jaya and Pandan Indah.
The state government has allocated a total of RM6 million for the free Covid-19 community testing initiative.
The programme targets the involvement of 50,000 residents covering high-density areas and low-income groups.
