PETALING JAYA: Anne, 26, had fever, cough and a sore throat. She quickly grabbed a Covid-19 self-test kit and was relieved when it came out negative.
She went about her daily routine and just four days later, her family members started showing the same symptoms.
Anne decided to test herself again -- this time, she tested positive for Covid-19.
Now, the content writer regrets not being more careful. She said she could be the one who had spread the virus to her family as she was the only one who was sick in the first place.
With the Chinese New Year around the corner, Malaysians need to do the Covid-19 self test correctly to avoid false negatives.
“I made a mistake by having a drink before I tested myself. The first time I did it, it was negative.
“On the fourth day after developing the symptoms, I noticed my family members started to get sick and they tested positive,” said Anne, who is from Petaling Jaya.
“I hope everyone else is careful when they do the self-test because you could put your family at risk, especially during this festive season,” she said.
Covid-19 antigen rapid test kits (RTK) require users not to eat or drink anything other than water, or smoke before doing the test to get higher accuracy.
Digital marketing executive Nur Hidayatul Husna, 27, from Perak recounted her experience of getting false negatives last year when she was four months pregnant.
She was initially confused whether the symptoms she was experiencing was due to her pregnancy but still decided to test herself.
“I did the test once after reaching home from work and it was negative.
“But the symptoms only got worse. I repeated it for a third time and then I saw a double line.
“I was so worried because I was pregnant at the time. Thankfully, I could get in touch with my doctor who monitored me throughout the period,” said Nur Hidayatul, who quarantined herself following the positive test result.
Nur Hidayatul said she was glad none of her family members were infected after her first false negative.
She reminded the public celebrating Chinese New Year to get tested before meeting their relatives for their reunion dinner
“If you start developing symptoms, please keep yourself away from the others,” she said.
The Chinese community will be celebrating the Year of the Rabbit tomorrow, with reunion dinners tonight.
According to the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 dashboard, KKMNOW, there were 10,377 active cases as of Friday.
The data also showed that 96% of the people infected have been in self-isolation at home while 3.8% have been hospitalised.
