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PUTRAJAYA – The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has assured that supplies of self-test Covid-19 RTK-Ag kits are adequate, with some 18 million units currently available in the market.
The ministry, in a statement today, said the availability of the kits was based on daily monitoring and inspections carried out by the ministry on importers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to ensure stable supply of the product in the market.
RTK-Ag kits have been gazetted as controlled items under the Control of Supplies (Controlled Goods) Order (No.6) 2021 on 24 November, which came into force on December 1 last year to ensure their availability and sufficient supply in the market.
According to the ministry, eight manufacturers given conditional permission to produce the kits in Malaysia have produced a total of 4.306 million units of RTK-Ag kits as of February this year, while a total of 2.34 million units have been imported from seven countries.
On complaints of a shortage of RTK-Ag kits in the market, it said only three reports were received since January 1 until yesterday.
On the price range of such kits on the market, the ministry said it is between RM4.90 and RM19.90 per unit.
“Some 80% of RTK-Ag kits are sold for under RM10 per unit,” said the ministry.
The ministry said a total of 8,084 retail premises recognised by the Malaysian Medical Device Authority have been given permission to sell RTK-Ag kits, and advised the public not to panic over reports of the increase in Covid-19 cases by panic-buying or making excessive purchases of the kits. – Bernama, February 22, 2022