Covid-19: Malaysia performed 60k fewer tests last week despite outbreak

Malaysia had performed fewer Covid-19 tests last week compared to the week before, even though the Covid-19 situation in the country has yet to improve significantly.

This has led to the test positivity rate - a measure of whether enough testing is being done compared to the size of an outbreak - to increase slightly from 6.89 percent (May 23 to 29) to 7.28 percent (May 30 to June 5).

This is according to the Health Ministry’s testing data for the 21st and 22nd epidemiological week of this year.

It showed that for the period from May 23 to 29, there were 774,973 people sampled for Covid-19 testing, of which 53,419 (6.89 percent) tested positive.

In the following week (last week; May 30 to June 5), there were 715,223 people sampled for Covid-19 testing, of which 52,040 tested positive (7.28 percent). This was a reduction of 59,750 tests even though the number of Covid-19 cases had not fallen as far.

The numbers include Covid-19 testing performed by private laboratories and other entities outside the Health Ministry.

There were conflicting opinions on how much testing should be considered enough. The government’s position is that the test positivity rate should be kept under 10 percent, while other experts argue it should be kept under 5 percent.

A high test positivity rate would suggest there is significant under-testing, and many Covid-19 cases are being missed.

The number of Covid-19 tests performed each day fluctuates – falling during weekends and public holidays, then rising again over the course of the week [See chart below].

When broken down by states and territories, the place with the highest test positivity rate is Selangor. The state tested over 37,000 fewer people last week compared to the week before, while simultaneously detecting 686 more cases.

This led the test positivity rate to increase from 7.99 percent to 10.06 percent. The 2.07 percentage point increase is also the largest increase seen.

Selangor’s high test positivity rate is followed by Labuan (9.74 percent) and Negeri Sembilan (9.63 percent)

Across the nation’s 16 states and territories, only four have test positivity rates below 5 percent.

They are Perlis (3.24 percent), Sabah (4.10 percent), Pahang (4.37 percent), and Putrajaya (4.39 percent).

In terms of week-to-week changes, Putrajaya has seen the greatest improvement. Its test positivity rate had fallen from 8.61 percent in the week before. This is followed by Kelantan (2.94 percentage points decrease) and Pahang (1.07 percentage points).

Overall, the test positivity rate has improved in 11 states and territories. Even though over half of these places also saw decreased testing, the number of Covid-19 cases in these places have fallen faster.

Meanwhile, five states and territories saw the test positivity rate worsen.

Apart from Selangor that is in the lead, the others are Kuala Lumpur (1.72 percentage points increase), Perak (1.31 percentage points), Labuan (0.96 percentage points) and Sabah (0.27 percentage points).

The country is beginning to see its Covid-19 cases decline after a peak of 9,020 cases a day recorded on May 29.

However, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii warned on Tuesday that the decline should be interpreted with the reduced number of Covid-19 tests being conducted.

He urged the government to use the “total lockdown” period to increase testing as part of an exit strategy, or it would see Covid-19 cases rise again.

Yesterday, the Malaysian Health Coalition voiced concern over the number of people who have already died of Covid-19 when brought to a hospital, and said this may point towards systemic failures.

One of the ways they urged the government to address this is to increase testing capacity, whether through mass testing or targeted tests.