CLEA Doctor Verified RTK Antigen Test Virtual CLEA Screening (VCS)

Travellers entering Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 2 days before departure for Singapore. The Singapore Pre-Travel COVID-19 Test can be an Antigen Rapid Test (ART) administered by a trained professional (self-swabs not allowed) OR Polymerase Chain Reaction Test taken at an internationally accredited or recognised lab/clinic/medical facility.

While there is a list of clinics and hospitals for a professionally administered RTK-Ag test here, it’s not all that convenient as you need to find time to physically visit the clinic. I checked many clinics with my travel around Peninsular Malaysia, and most of them have high costs of certification as compared with pharmacy Antigen Rapid Test Kits (RTK-Ag). The most inconvenient are clinics which have a fixed time for RTK tests only, which really put a dent in my original schedule.

Thanks to the community at the Malaysia-Singapore Border Crossers(MSBC) 马新过境者 Facebook group, I found the CLEA app which provides a virtual RTK Antigen Test process certified by actual doctors at panel clinics with the KKM certificate, and will pass for the Singapore VTL Pre-Travel COVID-19 Antigen Test (ART) requirement.

CLEA has provided a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) here:

There’s also a list of all necessary links for testing and app download here.

Pharmacy-Bought Antigen Rapid Test Kits (RTK-Ag)

I purchased my Empro Biomed COVID-19 Ag Nasal Self-Test from Watsons for my Malaysia VTL Days 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and Singapore Pre-Travel Covid-19 Test. The Empro Biomed COVID-19 Ag Nasal Self-Test costs only RM6.90 which is very affordable.

Note that airlines and buses may reject a saliva test for the Singapore Pre-Travel Covid-19 Test, so do use a nasal self-test kit for safety.

Virtual CLEA Screening (VCS)

To begin using CLEA on Day 3, credits will need to be topped up. 1 credit costs RM15 which will be valid for 1 test. This cost is for doctor’s verification and certification only – you will need to purchase your own Malaysia-approved RTK-Ag from a Malaysian pharmacy first for your self test.

I purchased 3 credits straightaway for the Malaysia VTL Day 3 and Day 5 Professional RTK Antigen Swab Test, and also for my Pre-Travel Covid-19 Test within 2 days before departure for Singapore.

Ensure that your profile matches documents required for travel. The certificate will be generated based on these details that you provided yourself.

The process of swabbing was rather straightforward, with instructions exactly based on the Empro Biomed COVID-19 Ag Nasal Self-Test while you record yourself. After 10 minutes of ending the video recording, take a photo of the result for verification, and just wait for the verification.

My verification took just 3 hours for my Singapore VTL Pre-Travel COVID-19 Antigen Test (ART/RTK), which was really efficient.

Conclusion

Overall, full marks for CLEA for making Professional RTK Antigen Swab Tests so easy. All I had to do was to ask my hotel to help me print the .pdf certificate and I’m fit to fly back to Singapore.

CLEA is probably the best thing to happen for certified Malaysia COVID-19 Antigen testing. I wish many other countries would adopt and approve this simple and affordable idea when everyone can finally accept that COVID-19 rapid testing is part of a new normal.