Prime Minister Hun Sen told public institutions to use the Covid-19 antigen rapid test kits wisely and save their budget for the device purchase when necessary.

“All ministries … have to save them for use at your individual institution when the need arises,” he said during a virtual Council of Ministers meeting on July 9.

The prime minister also told people living in the border provinces to be careful of the new Delta coronavirus variant. The sub-commission in charge of border checkpoint control and quarantine must increase the quarantine capacity for returning migrant workers to prevent the variant from spreading into the community, he said.

He also told government officials to continue working online to ensure their works go smoothly while also protecting themselves from the disease.

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on July 1 began accepting purchase orders for Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits at $3.70 per unit – an offer exclusively for public and private institutions.

The Ministry of Health on July 7 also gave permission to individuals to use rapid antigen test at home or privately if they suspect they have contracted Covid-19 and released a 20-page Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on how to use them.

As of July 7, the health ministry had approved four types of rapid tests device, including the ABBOTT PANBIOth Covid-19 Ag RAPID Test Device, Roche SARS-Cov-2 Rapid Antigen Test 25T, Standard Q Covid-19 Ag Test and INDICAID Covid-19 Rapid Antigen Test.