CLEA Doctor Verified RTK Antigen Test Virtual CLEA Screening (VCS)
All VTL travellers entering Malaysia on both air and land vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) must undergo a daily COVID-19 testing regime over 6 days using Antigen Rapid Test Kits (RTK-Ag) from 8 December 2021. The Day 3 and Day 5 RTK-Ag tests must be professionally administered.
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 Malaysia VTL Day 3 and Day 5 Professional RTK Antigen Swab Test 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.
I did my Malaysia VTL Days 2, 4, and 6 on my own, and submitted my negative result on MySejahtera by myself. CLEA is not needed for Malaysia VTL Days 2, 4, and 6.
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 around 3 to 4 hours for the Malaysia VTL Day 3 and Day 5 Professional RTK Antigen Swab Test, which was really efficient.
While CLEA says that they will upload the result to MySejahtera on their end, it wasn’t much of a hassle for me to do it myself too. Better safe with a double submission than sorry.
Conclusion
Overall, full marks for CLEA for making Professional RTK Antigen Swab Tests so easy, especially on my heavy-travelling Day 3 between Kluang and Johor Bahru, and Day 5 in Gua Musang where my clinic test would have set me back RM120 instead.
CLEA really took a lot of last-minute stress away from me after the sudden announcement of the Days 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 tests, after planning my train itinerary and booking all my tickets and hotels.
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