KUALA LUMPUR: The public has been advised not to hoard Covid-19 self-test kits and only buy the required number at any one time.

       Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Koh Kar Chai said there was ample supply of test kits in the market, but panic buying could lead to a shortage.

       "Do not be paranoid about the need to test yourself on a daily basis unless it is (required) due to the nature of your work.

       "Healthcare professionals themselves do not test on a daily basis, unless they clearly need to do so.

       "Circumstances needing self testing include before functions involving groups of people, visiting elderly or immunocompromised individuals, after coming into close contact with infected individuals, or when exhibiting symptoms, to name a fewm" he said on Saturday (March 12).

       Dr Koh said due to the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, the number of positive cases would be high until we reach the peak and it would be prudent to adhere to standard operating procedures at all times.

       He said although the accuracy of the self-test kits might not be comparable – due to the sampling methods used – to the professional RTK Ag tests as well as the gold standard RT PCR tests, it was useful in picking up symptomatic cases especially when the cases were at an all-time high.