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

Increasing the availability of the tests would complement government efforts to rein in the novel coronavirus' spread, the ministry stressed.

The quantity of kits specified in state institutions' orders must not exceed the number of staff, and preference will be given to private institutions with a larger number of employees or that are based in locations at higher risk of exposure to the virus, it said.

Offered on a first-come, first-served basis, the tests are for the exclusive use of buyers – for staff members – and are not authorised for resale, it added.

Highlighting that the public is, at this time, not allowed to place orders for individual use, the ministry urged people with suspected Covid-19 symptoms to be tested at locations designated by the Ministry of Health.

Without providing concrete dates or quantities, the telecoms ministry noted that the tests would be imported from South Korea.

Orders can be placed via phone through hotline number 123, or 067-818-782, 017-848-108 or 077-867-957, and paid via participating banks Canadia, ABA or Acleda, it said.

The kits can be picked up at the ministry on the west side of Street 103 between streets 98 and 102 just east of Wat Phnom, in Srah Chak commune of the capital's Daun Penh district, it noted.

The ministry said it plans to share a video explaining how to use the kits to obtain accurate results.