PETALING JAYA: Getting Covid-19 test kits needs a little help from Lady Luck these days.

A retiree, who wanted to be known only as Raj, said he went to almost all major pharmacies in SS2 a few days ago and found that the test kits were out of stock.

He said one counter staff told him: “I’m sorry, but an old uncle just came and bought the last few boxes.”

Raj, 60, said he decided then to walk to other shops along the same row, only to leave empty-handed as well.

He said he decided to go to another outlet across the road before calling off his “search”.

“Fortunately, that pharmacy had some stock left,” he said.

He said that pharmacies should impose a limit on the number of test kits a customer could buy.

However, checks by The Star at pharmacies in Denai Alam, Shah Alam, found plenty of Covid-19 test kits available though the brand names were limited.

One staff member at a Guardian Malaysia branch in Shah Alam said there had been an increase in demand for the test kits as well as face masks but there was no panic buying.

A 27-year-old writer named Razif said there were plenty of the stocks left when he bought the test kits last week.

In fact, he said the items were offered at special prices.

Razif said he was able to get five test kits for RM10 when the cheapest ones were usually priced at RM3.90 each.

There were even promotions if you buy more than five, he said.

“Even sundry stores still had stocks available when I went to get some extra ones earlier this week,” he said.

He added that he decided to stock up on these kits as many in his social circle had contracted Covid-19 lately.

But it was a different experience for communications executive Ana Abd, who likened her search for the kits to a treasure hunt.

Ana, 30, was frantically looking for a test kit online after she received news that a colleague of hers had contracted Covid-19.

She immediately opened an app to purchase the test kits.

“Every time I tapped on the test kits option from pharmacies, it would say they were sold out or unavailable.

“Luckily, after scrolling for options, I managed to get some test kits from a grocery market nearby,” she said.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/12/02/looking-for-covid-19-test-kits-just-like-a-treasure-hunt