JOHOR BARU: Zarvina Jaffar was notified that she was a close contact of her son, who is a Covid-19 positive patient, and was required to undergo a swab test and wear a wristband during her home quarantine.

       Her nightmare began when she went to the low-risk quarantine and treatment centre (PKRC) at Pasir Gudang Indoor Stadium to get tested.

       “It was a shocking experience. I went there three days in a row as there were so many people waiting to get tested.

       “I only managed to get my test done on the third day after waiting in the car for 13 hours since 5am,” she said, adding that there were families, elderly people and young children, waiting in their cars that stretched for several kilometres.

       Zarvina, 46, said while she understood the constraints at the PKRC, the government needed to do something fast to address the issues there.

       Her suggestions include setting up additional test counters and more staff to man the centre so that the people could get tested quickly.

       “We should also open up other PKRC. On the first day, there were so many people that the staff requested me to go back.

       “On the second day, I decided to leave after waiting for six hours as there were no food, drinks or toilet facilities there, ” she added.

       However, Zarvina said she was determined to get her swab test as she has yet to be vaccinated despite registering several months ago.

       Another person, who wished to be known only as Tan, in his 50s, said an official at the PKRC told him they could only test 1,500 people a day.

       “Due to close contact, four people in my family need to be tested.

       “The PCR test at a private clinic costs RM250 each. I have not been working since June and cannot afford it,” he said.

       T. Selvakumar, 42, who tested positive for Covid-19, decided to leave with his family of six after waiting for about five hours as they could not stand the heat.

       “We were told to go to the PKRC to get the wristbands. But the queue was just too long,” he said, adding that a friend then told him to register online and quarantine at home until the authorities call them up.

       Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said he has received many complaints and has even personally visited the PKRC recently.

       “People as far as Johor Baru and Pasir Gudang come to this PKRC. We should have more such centres to carry out mass testing.

       “How can we win the war against Covid-19 with just one of two such centres,” he said, calling for the opening up of more centres in Covid-19 hotspots like Johor Baru.

       Separately, a health official said due to an increase in testing and cases at the PKRC in Pasir Gudang, people should get tested at private clinics and then fill up their particulars and send them to the health department via email if results came back positive.

       “This is like a virtual wristband and health officials will contact the person to monitor their progress,” he said, adding that the form is available at tinyurl.com/covidjohorbahru..