SEPANG: Preparations are underway to set up a state-of-the-art Covid-19 screening facility at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which will be able to screen 40,000 passengers daily once it becomes fully operational this year.
The top management of BP Healthcare Group carried out a site project inspection at KLIA's Gate 1 on Thursday to examine the progress.
Once completed, the facility will enable travelers to be undergo Covid-19 screening at the airport itself.
The facility, a collaboration between BP Clinical Lab Sdn Bhd and Malaysia Airports, will see an onsite laboratory set up within the airport, allowing test results to be known within a short period.
BP Healthcare Group advisor Datuk Dr Abd Razak Md Yusoff said the facility will be fully operational and able to serve incoming passengers once they have met the stringent requirements set by the authorities.
"In terms of manpower, we will be providing experienced and highly-trained medical professionals to run the testing and screening procedures.
These personnel will comprise not just doctors and nurses but also a pathologist who will carefully review the results, ably assisted by a qualified Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLT) as well as a science officer," he said.
The facility, he said, will have 14 booths for swab tests and screenings, all manned by medical personnel certified by the Health Ministry.
Once fully operational, there will be more than 200 personnel on duty.
"Our projections show that one doctor can swab up to 60 travelers per hour. With 14 booths here coupled with the laboratory, we will be able to carry out an estimated 40,000 tests per day," he said.
He said the facility will have a registration and reception area, a swab booth area, laboratory, pre-swab waiting zones for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, an isolation zone, a food and beverage counter and restrooms, among others.
Abd Razak said the facility will also have eight kiosks for self-registration, which is hoped to reduce waiting time for travelers.
BP Clinical Lab, he said, has the capability to produce RTK-Ag results within 15 minutes and RT-PCR screening test results within three hours.
Abd Razak said the facility does not provide inpatient or outpatient treatment for passengers and travelers who test positive for Covid-19.
Symptomatic passengers will be segregated in designated isolation bays while those who test positive will then be transferred to a hospital.
Other amenities and services include passenger escort from the arrival gate to the testing area, VIP service, as well as waiting lounges. Lounges are equipped with computers, Wi-Fi Internet access, portable WiFi rental and telecommunication SIM card, OTC pharmaceutical products, basic personal protective items like masks and face shields as well as F&B offerings.
Passengers will be able to pre-purchase their Covid-19 screening tests before departure via https://malaysiaairports.doctor2u.my/.
To ensure staff safety, BP Clinical Lab will carry out free Covid-19 RT-PCR screening tests for all staff at the facility.