The Ministry of Health has gazetted revised guidelines on lab testing for COVID-19 by way of the gazette. Under the new guidelines, symptomatic patients should be tested by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Suspected patients should be given Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT).
Companies with over 250 employees must test the larger of either 1% of the workforce or 15 employees on a weekly basis. Firms with below 249 but above 50 shall be required to test 10 employees. Small scale firms with fewer than 50 employees shall be required to test 5 employees.
The guidelines require RT-PCR for high-risk surgeries and RAT for certain other surgeries. Patients requiring emergency procedures will receive RAT. A COVID-19 case shall be defined if there is a positive RT-PCR or a positive RAT with epidemiological criteria for COVID-19 or an epidemiological linkage to COVID-19.
The guidelines also set out a risk assessment for healthcare workers. Patients in long term care facilities should be given PCR tests. Routine testing for COVID-19 on all dead bodies is not recommended by the guideline.
Symptomatic individuals regardless of the outcome of either RT-PCR or RAT are advised to continue isolation till recovery. Symptomatic contacts of someone COVID-19 positive should be tested.
Random asymptomatic surveillance should only happen in settings vulnerable for super spreading events in the absence of any detected COVID-19 cases during the last 2 weeks period.
All overseas travellers irrespective of vaccination status will receive RT-PCR.
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